Punjab Assembly Elections 2022: Cong CEC finalizes candidates, first list is likely to release on Friday

On Thursday, a meeting of the Congress Central Election Committee (CEC) for Punjab Assembly elections took place virtually. The meeting was held to discuss the finalization of the candidate. The first list of Congress candidates for Punjab polls will be out soon. And the Chief Minister Charanjeeet Singh Channi, who is currently representing the Chamkaur Sahib seat in Punjab Assembly, is likely to contest for the two seats in the elections. In the meeting around 70 seats have been discussed which includes many MLA's, and the CEC is likely to announce its 70 candidates on Friday. 

"Apart from Chamkaur Sahib Assembly seat which comes in Maajha region of Punjab, Congress is all set to field CM Channi from Adampur Assembly constituency which falls in the Doaba Region where a large number of seats have a chunk of Dalit votes who are a deciding factor in the region. Along with that, it will not be a surprise to see sitting MPs as candidates for Assembly polls," a source said. 

Congress MP Jasbir Singh Gill said that he would definitely do his best if the party wants to field him for assembly polls."We are keen to fight if the party wants us to field for assembly polls, but it can be decided by party interim president Sonia Gandhi. If she will ask me to contest the polls, I will definitely fight the polls," Gill said.

Another Congress MP said, "Yes, there is a discussion on fielding MPs like Pratap Singh Bajwa whose tenure is ending in March from Rajya Sabha." 

Meanwhile,  the elections will be held to elect 117 members of the Legislative Assembly in Punjab. This year the main competition will be between two ruling parties  Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The Punjab election will be held on a single-phase on February 14.