AAP Minister in a soup over casteist remark
The Congress on Saturday announced names of its candidates for 16 Lok Sabha constituencies across four States. The notable names include former Union Minister Manish Tewari for the Chandigarh seat, shifting him from Anandpur Sahib which he won in the 2019 election. He will face the BJP’s Sanjay Tandon, who is the son of former Governor Balramji Das Tandon.
The party also cleared the name of Himachal Pradesh Minister Vikramaditya Singh, son of former Chief Minister Virbhadhra Singh and State party chief Pratibha Singh, from Mandi. He will be facing BJP candidate Kangana Ranaut.
Former Union Minister Srikant Kumar Jena who had recently returned to the Congress will be contesting from Balasore in Odisha. Former Leader of the Opposition Paresh Dhanani has been fielded from Rajkot against Union Minister Purshottam Rupala. Mr. Rupala is at the centre of a controversy with his remarks against Rajputs and is facing protests from many within the Gujarat BJP.
After 22 years, Mr. Rupala and Mr. Dhanani are fighting against each other.
The names were announced after a meeting of the party’s Central Election Committee (CEC). According to sources, candidates for Haryana and Delhi were also discussed.
In Haryana, the party, according to sources, has finalised the names of Rajya Sabha member Deepender Hooda from Rohtak and Kumari Shelja from
Sirsa. However, Ms. Shelja has yet to decide whether she will contest or not. Sources also said that in Punjab, former AAP leader Dharamvir Gandhi’s name was cleared for Patiala.
The party, which is racked with infighting in Himachal Pradesh, is hoping that Mr. Singh’s candidature will bring stability. Differences that were simmering between CM Sukwinder Singh Sukhu and the party’s State unit sharpened during the recent Rajya Sabha election when Congress candidate Abhishek Singhvi was defeated due to crossvoting by six MLAs of the ruling party. The fault lines within the party were visible, with Mr. Vikramaditya and his mother Ms. Singh, blaming the CM for the Rajya Sabha fiasco.
Names for candidates for five Assembly seats in Gujarat coming up for bypolls were also cleared. There is still no word on the party’s candidate from Amethi and Rae Bareli, where several sections in the party are hoping that former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will contest.
The meeting was attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, and AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Minister in Punjab Laljit Singh Bhullar landed himself in a controversy after his alleged casteist remark against a community, inviting sharp criticism and a demand for stern action against him by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Congress on Saturday. Mr. Bhullar, AAP candidate from the Khadoor Sahib constituency, spoke against former Congress MLA Harminder Singh Gill and allegedly made casteist remarks. He later apologised and stated that his remarks were solely against Mr. Gill and he never intended to hurt the sentiments of any community.
Demanding that the Election Commission take action, senior SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema said, “... This action of the Minister is criminal, highly condemnable and has exposed the real face of AAP leaders. It has gravely hurt the feelings of the people of the State.”