Punjab Polls: Capt Amarinder Singh releases list of 22 candidates, declares his candidature from Patiala Urban

Chandigarh: Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday released a list of Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) Party candidates contesting from 22 constituencies during a press conference in Chandigarh, wherein he also declared that he will be contesting the elections from the Patiala Urban constituency. The former Chief Minister's new party PLC has been allotted 37 out of the 117 seats in the state as part of its alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and SAD (Sanyukt), with discussions still in progress on possibly another five seats for the party, as informed by Capt. Singh. He further declared that the second list of candidates will be released in the next two days.

"We have given a good set of candidates with a clear focus on winnability while ensuring due representation across regions and various sections of the society," the PLC chief, who will contest for the Patiala Urban seat, said here. Of the 37 seats in the PLC kitty, the maximum of 26 is from the Malwa region of the state, which will consequently play a crucial role in the upcoming elections. The PLC's share in seat allocation for the Majha region currently stands at seven, while the Doaba region accounts for four seats, wherein Ajit Pal Singh has been given the ticket.

The first list of candidates from the Doaba region includes Amandeep Singh alias Gora Gill, the former Punjab Congress spokesperson. Satvir Singh Palli Jhikki, who will contest from Nawanshahr, is the Chairman of the District Planning Board, Nawanshahr and former President of the PYC, District Nawanshahr, according to the statement released by the party. Singh also introduced ex-captain of Indian hockey team Ajit Pal Singh in the fray from the Nakodar constituency.

Releasing the first list of nominees, the PLC leader said all these candidates have strong political credentials and are well-known faces in their respective constituencies. Farzana Alam Khan, the only woman candidate, is a former SAD MLA and wife of late DGP Izhar Alam Khan, contesting from Malerkotla in the Malwa region.

The party's list of candidates includes eight Jat Sikhs, four belonging to the SC community, three to the OBC community, and five are Hindu faces. In addition to Amarinder and Farzana Alam, another candidate from the Malwa region is Sanjeev Sharma alias Bittu Sharma, who was the president of the District Youth Congress for a number of years and has been given the ticket for the Patiala Rural seat. Kamaldeep Saini, former PPCC secretary and former Chairman of the Cooperative Bank Punjab and General Secretary in-charge (Organisation) PLC, is the listed candidate from the Kharar constituency.

Additionally, Jagmohan Sharma, who was President of District Congress Committee, Ludhiana and is currently PLC district president, has been selected for Ludhiana East. The Ludhiana South seat will be contested by Satinderpal Singh Tajpuri, the son of a former Cooperation Minister in the erstwhile SAD government. Prem Mittal, a SAD ex-MLA from Mansa and former Senior Deputy Mayor of Ludhiana, will contest from Atamnagar, while Damanjeet Singh Mohi, an active Youth Congress functionary who has formerly been Sarpanch, Zila Parishad member and Chairman of Market Committee Mullanpur, will fight from the Dakha seat, said the statement.

A popular Dalit face and a retired PPS officer, Mukhtiar Singh has been nominated for the party ticket from the reserved constituency of Nihal Singh Wala. The Dharamkot seat ticket has gone to Ravinder Singh Garewal, an advocate, agriculturist and businessman. Dr Amarjeet Sharma, a medical practitioner who has been working at the grassroots for over a decade, has been pitched from Rampura Phul.

Among other candidates, the Sanaur seat will be contested by Bikramjit Inder Singh Chahal, son of Amarinder Singh's close associate and advisor BIS Chahal, with the Samana candidature going to Surinder Singh Kherki, Secretary, PPCC and former Member of Panchayat Samiti.

Punjab Assembly Polls 2022 will commence on February 20th while the results will be declared on March 10.