Poll is family affair for these Congmen

Getting family members into politics is not a new phenomenon in the Congress. In Punjab and Haryana, former chief minister Amarinder Singh and chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda are doing the same.

In Punjab, Amarinder Singh, who has been appointed election campaign in-charge of the Congress in the state, has been eyeing a ticket for son Raninder Singh from the Bhatinda Lok Sabha seat. His wife Parneet Kaur is an MP from Patiala. It’s yet to be seen whether the Congress high command obliges the former scion of the Patiala royal family.

Raninder has been already campaigning in the Bhatinda constituency, where his ancestral family village Bairajh is. Amarinder said Raninder would get the ticket because he had slogged as a party worker in the constituency and had earned it for himself.

Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has been also toeing a similar political line by trying to ensure a ticket for Asha Hooda, his wife, from the Sonepat Lok Sabha seat. Hooda’s son Depinder is already an MP from Rohtak.

Senior Congress leaders say there is nothing wrong in getting tickets for family members so long as the “winnability” factor is taken into account. In Punjab, there are rumours that Union minister Ambika Soni and former CM Rajinder Kaur Bhattal are also lobbying for their sons.