New Delhi: Manohar Singh, the brother of Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, who was eyeing a Congress ticket from the Bassi Pathana assembly seat, said on Sunday that he will run as an independent after the ruling party selected its existing MP.


The Congress granted the ticket to party MLA Gurpreet Singh GP from the Bassi Pathana (SC) seat in its first list of 86 candidates on Saturday, PTI reported.


Manohar Singh described the Congress' decision to give a ticket to Gurpreet Singh GP as an injustice to the residents of the seat, alleging that the existing member was unable and inefficient.


Several influential persons in the Bassi Pathana area have requested me to fight as an independent, and I will do so. There is no going back, and I will undoubtedly run in the elections, Manohar Singh told PTI over the phone.


Singh resigned as a senior medical officer from Kharar government hospital in August of last year. Singh has an MBBS and an MD. In addition, he has a postgraduate degree in journalism and has studied law.


He stated that he decided to run as an independent after meeting with many councillors, the village sarpanch, and the panch, all of whom wanted him to run.


People told me it was inappropriate to issue him the ticket (Gurpreet Singh GP). He had previously done nothing, and now he has been forced upon again, according to Singh.


Singh stated that he will speak with his brother Channi and persuade him of his decision.


Regarding the Congress' 'one family-one ticket' formula for the forthcoming assembly elections, Channi stated that the party fielded Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary, the son of Jalandhar MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary, from the Phillaur seat.


Similarly, Fatehgarh Sahib MP Amar Singh's son Kamil Amar Singh has been handed the Raikot seat ticket, he claimed.


Last year, Punjab Congress chairman Navjot Singh Sidhu opened Gurpreet Singh GP's poll office in the Bassi Pathana seat.


The election for Punjab's 117 assembly seats will take place on February 14, and the ballots will be counted on March 10.


(With PTI Inputs)