Punjab Election 2022: CM Channi's brother to fight as independent candidate

Chandigarh, Jan 16: Dissent seems to be brewing in the Punjab Congress as Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi's brother Manohar Singh, one of the key omissions in the first list of candidates for the Punjab assembly election on Saturday, has decided to contest as an independent from Bassi Pathana (SC) seat.

In its first list of 86 candidates, the Congress on Saturday gave the ticket to party MLA Gurpreet Singh GP from Bassi Pathana (SC) seat.

Manohar Singh dubbed the decision of the Congress giving ticket to Gurpreet Singh GP as "injustice" with the people of the constituency and alleged that the sitting legislator was "incapable and ineffective."

"Several prominent people of Bassi Pathana area have asked me to fight as an independent and I will go by what they have said. There is no chance of going back and I will surely fight the polls," Manohar Singh told PTI over the phone.

Singh had in August last year resigned as a senior medical officer from Kharar civil hospital.

He said he took the decision of contesting as an independent after meeting several councillors, village sarpanch and panch who asked him to fight the polls.

"People told me it was wrong to give the ticket to him (Gurpreet Singh GP). He had earlier not done anything and now he has again been foisted upon," said Singh.

Singh said he will talk to his brother Channi and convince him about his decision.

On the 'one family-one ticket' formula of the Congress for the upcoming assembly polls, Channi said the party fielded Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary, who is the son of Jalandhar MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary, from Phillaur seat.

Similarly, Fatehgarh Sahib MP Amar Singh's son Kamil Amar Singh has been given the ticket from the Raikot seat, he said.

Voting for Punjab's 117 assembly seats will be held on February 14 and the counting of votes will take place on March 10.