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Sonia denies ticket to Kalmadi
Sonia denies ticket to Kalmadi, Sonia Gandhi, Suresh Kalmadi, CWG scam. Similarly, the party has not declared the candidate for Sivaganga, from where Finance Minister P Chidambaram is the sitting MP.
- Party releases its third list of 58 candidates
- So far, nominees for 236 LS seats cleared
- Suspense over who will take on Narendra Modi
New Delhi: Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday night cracked the whip by denying Suresh Kalmadi, tainted in the CWG scam, the ticket to contest the Lok Sabha election from Pune. In his place, the name of Vishwajeet Kadam was cleared from Pune. The suspense, however, continued on clearing the name from the Nanded parliamentary constituency of Maharashtra, from where former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan or his wife is tipped to get the ticket. Cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin from Hyderabad, who won from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh in 2009, has now been shifted to Tonk-Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan.
In the third list of 58 candidates, the Congress kept on hold the declaration of controversial seats, from where senior leaders have developed cold-feet to contest. The candidate for Ludhiana from where I&B Minister Manish Tewari is reluctant to contest was not announced. Tewari wanted to contest from Chandigarh, the seat from where former tainted Minister Pawan Bansal has been given a ticket.
Similarly, the party has not declared the candidate for Sivaganga, from where Finance Minister P Chidambaram is the sitting MP.
Sonia Gandhi, however, seemed to have reined in Rajasthan PCC President Sachin Pilot, who wanted a change of constituency, but was told to contest from his old constituency of Ajmer. Union Culture Minister Chandresh Kumari Katoch wanted to shift back to Himachal Pradesh for a safe seat but was asked to contest from her constituency of Jodhpur in Rajasthan. From Nagaur, Jyoti Mirdha, the sitting MP, has been renominated. Punjab PCC President Partap Singh Bajwa has been renominated to contest from Gurdaspur. He, too, was reluctant to contest. From Delhi, in the five constituencies declared by the Congress, all of the sitting MPs have got the tickets. Union Minister Kapil Sibal will be contesting from Chandni Chowk seat against BJP leader Harsh Vardhan and AAP candidate Ashotosh.
From East Delhi, Sandeep Dikshit, son of Sheila Dikshit has been cleared the seat. Krishna Tirath will contest from North-West Delhi, Ajay Maken from New Delhi against BJP candidate Meenakshi Lekhi and from North-East Delhi, DPCC President Jai Prakash Aggarwal has been given ticket. Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi got the ticket from Mahasamund in the State.
