Cong candidate from Dhuri 'racketeer', allege Barnalas

Upset over denial of poll tickets despite being promised, Surjit Singh Barnala's family today demanded that the Congress high-command change the candidate from Dhuri Assembly constituency in Punjab, alleging that he was a "racketeer".
Although the family of the former senior Akali Dal leader and ex-Tamil Nadu governor was hopeful that the Congress high-command would accept its demand, it indicated that somebody had "lobbied" in the party to deny them poll tickets from Dhuri and Sangrur constituencies.
"We have requested the high-command to kindly change the candidature from Dhuri, because the nominee there is a racketeer. Several complaints against him are being received and he had been involved in anti-party activities for long. He will earn a bad name to the party," said Gaganjeet Singh Barnala, son of Surjit Singh.

Congress has fielded Dalvir Singh Goldy from Dhuri for the upcoming Punjab Assembly polls.
Gaganjeet claimed that the party had committed to allot the tickets from Dhuri and Sangrur for the Assembly polls to the Barnala family when his son Simar Partap Singh Barnala was made to fight the by-election from Dhuri last year.
He said the "commitment" was made by the then Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmad and the then Punjab unit chief of the party Partap Singh Bajwa.

Gaganjeet claimed that Bajwa had even written to Congress president Sonia Gandhi to remind her about the "commitment made to the Barnala family".

The family has been seeking Simar Partap Singh's candidature from Dhuri and Baldev Singh Mann's candidature from Sangrur.
Yesterday, the family had held a show of strength with its supporters gathering at the Barnala residence in Dhuri.
Asked if anybody within the Congress had lobbied to deny the tickets to the family, Gaganjeet said, "Yes, that is obviously how it has happened."
He said he was hopeful that the party would accept their demand and change the candidature from Dhuri.
"We will wait for a few more days. If the decision is favourable, then it is good. Otherwise, we will have to fight the polls and that has to happen," said Gaganjeet.

Asked if the members of the family would contest the polls as Independent candidates if the Congress did not accept their demand, he said, "We are hopeful that our demands will be met and good sense will ultimately prevail. Otherwise, our next course of action will depend upon our supporters. We will go by what they want us to do."
Gaganjeet has been camping in Delhi to meet top Congress leaders and get the party to "honour its commitment".
"We will convey the sentiments of our workers to the high-command as they are worried that the Dhuri seat could be lost," he said.

It maybe recalled that the Barnala family-led SAD (Longowal) merged with the Congress this year.