Congress still undecided on allotment of tickets, more than 100 aspirants for 5 Vidhan Sabha seats of Sirsa due to hopes of windfall victory to Congress
SIRSA NEWS ( www.SirsaNews.com )
14 September, 2009
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Kuldeep Nanda, general secretary of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, and Pawan Godara, president of the Rajasthan Youth Congress, the two observers of the AICC for Sirsa, had to face a tough time today in the local Congress Bhawan when a large number of supporters of the 106 aspirants for the Congress ticket from five Assembly seats of the district laid a virtual siege, occupying almost every inch of the building and the surrounding areas.
While most of aspirants appeared before the observers in person, many others sent their bio-data through their supporters.
Interestingly, veteran Congress leader and Haryana Minister for Industries, Commerce, Mines and Geology, who has been in a dilemma over contesting himself or fielding his daughter Sunita Setia, did not apply for the ticket.
However, an application on behalf of Sunita Setia, chairperson of the Improvement Trust, was submitted to the observers.
District Congress president Hoshiari Lal Sharma, Block Congress president Bhupesh Mehta and Anand Biyani are among the 15 aspirants who have submitted their bio-data for the Sirsa Assembly seat.
Gurjeet Singh Kaura, a senior Punjab and Haryana High Court lawyer, Bharat Singh Beniwal, a member of the dissolved Assembly from Darba Kalan, and Malkiat Singh Khosa are among the 20 aspirants who have sought the ticket from Ellenabad.
Kalanwali (reserved) attracted the maximum 41 aspirants, including former MP Mani Ram Keharwala, IYC secretary Naresh Kalia and Pushpa Nagra.
Ranjit Singh, deputy chairman of the State Planning Board, Jagdish Nehra, a former minister, and Shilpa Verma, president of the District Mahila Congress, are among the 20 aspirants for the Rania seat, while KV Singh, former OSD to the Chief Minister, Ravi Chautala and Kuldeep Gadrana have sought the ticket from Dabwali.
While the observers met the aspirants or their representatives one by one, their supporters raised slogans in and outside the Congress Bhawan.
Vehicular traffic remained paralysed near the Congress Bhawan throughout the day as a large number of Congress workers assembled as a show of strength for their respective leaders.