Punjab Election 2022: Congress Election Committee To Finalise First List Of Candidates

Punjab Election 2022: Around 40 candidates are expected to receive a green signal from Congress' high command.

Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Punjab Congress President Navjot Singh Sidhu | Photo: Getty

New Delhi: The Congress party’s Central Election Committee (CEC) is scheduled to hold a meeting today which will give its approval for the first list of candidates for the upcoming Punjab Assembly election 2022.

As per ABP News sources, around 40 candidates are expected to receive a green signal from the high command. In view of the Covid-19, the meeting will be held through video conferencing at 6 pm. 

Apart from party President Sonia Gandhi, senior leader Rahu Gandhi, other leaders of the Election Committee, Punjab Chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Punjab Congress President Navjot Singh Sidhu are expected to attend the meeting. 

The state of Punjab is scheduled to undergo polls for its 117 Assembly constituencies in a single phase on February 14, while the votes will be counted on March 10.

The Congress will also be holding a meeting of its screening committee at 11 am today to discuss candidates for the Uttarakhand assembly election 2022.

Electoral politics in Punjab witnessed many changes since the last Assembly election of 2017 where the Congress had registered 77 seats with Captain Amarinder Singh becoming the Chief Minister.

The BJP in alliance with Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) had jointly won 18 seats, whereas the Aam Aadmi Party secured 20 seats. 

For this time, in the Punjab assembly election, the equations have changed as Captain Amarinder Singh stepped down from his post and left the Congress party after conflict with Navjot Singh Sidhu who was made the state party president. 

The long-running BJP-SAD alliance also parted ways over the three farm laws that the Centre had passed in 2020. The SAD has recently joined hands with the Bahujan Samaj Party. 

The Aam Aadmi Party has also secured its foothold in the state with party convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal himself being at the forefront during the campaigning.