Chandigarh: With the 2027 Punjab assembly elections drawing closer, the Congress is treading cautiously on candidate selection, weighing electoral prospects and ground-level feedback while attempting to accommodate the competing interests of senior leaders and different factions within the state unit.Ticket distribution is likely to test the party’s ability to maintain cohesion, given the presence of several power centres within its ranks. The challenge has acquired added urgency with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) having already announced 71 candidates, while the Congress seeks to position itself as the principal challenger to the governing party. AAP announced its first list of 40 candidates on Oct 31, followed by a second list of 31 candidates on Thursday.The Congress leadership will have to prioritise winnability while balancing the influence and interests of senior leaders in their respective areas. Former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, former Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa are among those whose views are likely to carry weight in the selection process. The leadership may also face competing demands from other leaders seeking a greater say in candidate selection and the accommodation of their supporters.The party will look to strike a balance between local influence, organisational contribution, and the electoral credentials of prospective candidates, while avoiding the perception that any particular faction is favoured.Warring, who was replaced by Pargat Singh as PPCC president in Oct, had advocated giving greater opportunities to grassroots workers and young leaders who had stood by the party during difficult times. During his tenure, he had also proposed allocating 50% of assembly election tickets to young leaders and fresh faces. His proposal echoed the emphasis on younger leadership in the 2022 Udaipur Nav Sankalp Declaration, under which the Congress had resolved to reserve 50% of organisational positions for people below the age of 50.Another issue likely to figure in the ticket-selection exercise is whether sitting MPs should be given assembly tickets. There are voices within the state unit opposing such a move. The possible implementation of ‘one family, one ticket’ could also emerge as a contentious issue. Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa in the recent past had openly opposed such a restriction, arguing that winnability and electability should be the primary criteria for ticket allocation. He maintained that even up to four members of the same family could be given tickets if they were capable of winning.Meanwhile, the Congress is conducting surveys across all 117 Assembly constituencies and seeking feedback from voters, local workers, and other stakeholders to assess the prospects of potential candidates. The exercise is expected to provide the leadership with constituency-wise inputs before it takes a final call on nominations.PPCC president Pargat Singh said the candidate selection process was under way, and the party was in no hurry to announce the list. He said the final list would comprise a mix of experienced leaders and young faces with credibility and electoral potential. “Capable leaders with credibility and the ability to win will definitely get a chance,” he said, adding that meetings of various party committees were also under way as part of the selection process.Punjab Congress in charge Sachin Pilot said the selection would be through consensus but merit-based. He said the party would prioritise winnable candidates while seeking to provide greater opportunities to young people. He emphasised preference should be given to party workers who had struggled and stood by the party through all its challenges.Prof Ashutosh Kumar of the department of political science, Panjab University, said the Congress has had a time-tested system of ticket distribution under which established leaders retained considerable influence and often had a significant say in the selection of candidates from their respective areas of influence.He also felt that Pilot would play an important role in the selection process, particularly given the intense factional differences within the state unit.
