Former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) on Sunday released the first list of 22 candidates for the upcoming assembly elections in the state. Singh will contest from the Patiala assembly seat under his new party Punjab Lok Congress.
The second list is likely to be released in two days. Singh said that out of 22 candidates, 2 are from Majha, 3 from Doaba and 17 from Malwa region. The Punjab Lok Congress has currently won 37 of the 117 seats in the state under an alliance with the BJP and the SAD (United), with discussions on possibly five more seats for the party still on.
Out of 37 seats, PLC got maximum 26 from Malwa region. Reportedly, Amarinder Singh single-handedly turned the region into a game-changer for the Congress in the 2007 elections, introducing Bt cotton along with his unprecedented Watershed Act of 2004.
In addition, Amarinder has strong family ties with the region, which used to be part of the erstwhile royal estate of Patiala. The share of PLC in seat allocation for Majha region is currently 7 while Doaba region has four seats.
#UPDATE Punjab Elections: List of 22 Candidates- Former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh will contest from Patiala under his newly formed party Punjab Lok Congress. https://t.co/PuRAtHFICa pic.twitter.com/iXojMTLklP
– ANI_HindiNews (AHindinews) January 23, 2022
Farzana Alam Khan, former SAD MLA and wife of late DGP Izhar Alam Khan, will contest from Malerkotla in Malwa region. Apart from Captain Amarinder Singh, eight more Jat Sikhs are in the well balanced first list. Four of the candidates belong to the SC community, three from the OBC community, while five are Hindu faces (three Pandits and two Agarwals).
Apart from Amarinder and Farzana, another prominent candidate from Malwa region is the sitting Mayor of MC Patiala, Sanjeev Sharma alias Bittu Sharma, who was the District Youth Congress President for many years. Sharma will contest from Patiala Rural seat.
Kamaldeep Saini, Former PPCC Secretary, Former President Cooperative Bank Punjab and General Secretary Incharge (Organisation) PLC has been finalized as the candidate from Kharar, while Jagmohan Sharma, who was the President of District Congress Committee, Ludhiana and presently PLC District is the President and has been elected for Ludhiana East.
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