Lok Sabha Polls: Congress holds CEC meeting for Punjab

A Central Election Committee meeting of the Congress party took place at the party headquarters in New Delhi, chaired by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Sonia Gandhi. The objective was to finalize candidates for the remaining Lok Sabha seats in Punjab and other states, with senior Congress leaders from Punjab in attendance.

The polling for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab is scheduled for the last phase on June 1. The Congress, contesting independently in the state, has nominated candidates such as Gurjeet Singh Aujla from Amritsar, Amar Singh from Fathgarh Sahib, Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu from Bhatinda, Sukhpal Singh Khaira from Sangrur, Dharamvir Gandhi from Patiala, and former CM Charanjit Singh Channi from Jalandhar. Despite being allies in other states, the Aam Aadmi Party and Congress are contesting separately in Punjab.

Earlier, AAP had announced four candidates for Punjab. Tajinder Singh Bittu, former AICC Secretary-in-Charge of Himachal Pradesh, resigned from Congress and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the party headquarters in Delhi in the presence of Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and party general secretary Vinod Tawde. Bittu’s departure adds to the string of setbacks for the Congress party, which has witnessed several key leaders leaving in recent weeks. In the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, the INC-led UPA alliance secured eight seats, while the NDA won four. The Aam Aadmi Party clinched one seat in its debut.