CONSOLATION PRIZE

AS WAS being expected, former Information & Broadcasting minister Manish Tewari has been denied a ticket to contest the Punjab polls. Tewari, who was keen to contest from Ludhiana (East), had met Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Monday. Rahul clearly was not convinced about his case. Tewari had who had won Lok Sabha elections from Ludhiana in 2009 but had dropped out of the 2014 race citing ill-health. It is said that Ravneet Singh Bittu, who replaced Tewari and won from Ludhiana, was dead against giving him the Assembly ticket. As consolation, Tewari could be accommodated in the AICC.