The Central Election Committee of Bharatiya Janata Party led by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani released a list of six candidates out of 8 for the remaining seats in Punjab for Feburary 13 Assembly polls.
The party had cleared 15 names in its first list cleared earlier this week. BJP is contesting the polls with Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) group and has been allotted 23 seats in the 117 seat state assembly.
Tikshak Sud, sitting member of legislature of the assembly, has not been cleared. "I was the only MLA from 18 candidates in the last assembly elections. I have won from the same seat twice," Sud told rediff.com after the day long deliberations over the nomination were over around 8.30 pm.
Though Sud was not willing to go on record but according to the party sources said that there were two other contenders. One of them had defected from the congress party recently and is an influential builder while the other is a local goldsmith by the name of Gopi.
Those whose names have been cleared are Arunesh Shaker, Chunni Lal Bhagat from Julundur South (SC), Madan Mohan Mittal from Nangal, Dr Ram Kumar from Abohar, Rajendra Mohan Singh Chhena from Amritsar West. No decision has been taken on assembly seat from Amritsar North.
Laxmi Kanta Chawla, who had staked claimed for Amritsar Lok Sabha by-election, has been given party nomination from Amritsar central.
Arun Jaitley, general secretary in charge of Punjab, left by the backdoor to avoid enraged supporters of those who have denied party nominations.
The party has also authorised its president Rajnath Singh to take any decision on the Amritsar Lok Sabha by-elections after the Supreme Court gives its judgment on the petition filed by former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu, who had to resign from the membership of Lok Sabha after he was convicted and sentenced to imprisonment of three years in an 18 year old road rage case.
Jagmit Singh Brar, former Congress MP, could be asked to file nomination for Amritsar Lok Sabha constituency by the Congress party's central election committee to give Navjot Sidhu a run for his money in case the latter gets a nod from the apex court to contest elections.
Burnt bodies of kids were found from the rice mill of Brar a couple of weeks back. Arrest of a migrant labourer bailed out Brar from an embarrassing situation. The rice mill, according to him, has been locked up for over ten years now.
