The first two list of Congress candidates for Punjab polls throws up several examples of how families continue to hold their sway in the party with several important segments being retained within a dynasty.
While sitting MLA Preneet Kaur chose to step down from Patiala segment in favour of her husband and Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh, MLA Charanjit Kaur Bajwa too vacated her Qadian seat for her brother-in-law Fatehjang Bajwa.
Likewise, sitting MLA from Nawashahar Guriqbal Kaur Babli stepped down in favour of her son Angad Saini, who bagged the Congress nomination for the seat in the first list.
In the second list announced on Friday, Congress named Amrik Singh Dhillon, the sitting Samrala MLA, as a candidate from the seat. Dhillon had curiously got both his son and grandson to apply for this seat just in case he falls back in the race.
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Another seat where the ticket stands retained within the family is Khem Karan, where the Congress has nominated Sukhpal Singh Bhullar, the younger son of Gurchet Singh Bhullar, a former MLA of Valtoha, as its candidate. Bhullar had been lobbying for this seat to go to his elder son instead.
Again in Jandiala SC segment, the Congress has named Sukhwinder Singh Danny, the son of ex-MLA Sardool Singh as a nominee while in Rajkot SC seat, it has replaced sitting MLA GS Boparai with his brother and ex-bureaucrat Amar Singh as a candidate for 2017 polls.
Amar Singh, a Madhya Pradesh cadre IAS officer, was principal secretary to the then CM of the state Digvijay Singh.
candidature is yet to be named. He too is learnt to have asked for the nomination of his son besides a change of segment to Samana.
From Sham Chaurasi SC seat, former Union minister Santosh Choudhry had applied for a ticket so has her daughter. Likewise, Congress MP Choudhry Santokh Singh's son Vikramjit Singh is an applicant from Phillaur assembly seat.
Incidentally, party's candidate for Sangrur assembly seat Vijay Inder Singla, is the son of a former Patiala MP Sant Ram Singla. He is also a former MP from Sangrur Lok Sabha constituency.