Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's appointment as chief of screening committee for the Congress ticket distribution in the 2017 Punjab Assembly election has brought cheers to the camp loyal to him in the Pradesh Congress Committee here.
Mr. Gehlot's appointment has been made close on the heels of two prominent Jat leaders, Subhash Maharia and Hari Singh, coming back to the fold of the Congress last week. Though PCC president Sachin Pilot played an important role in bringing the two leaders to the party, Mr. Gehlot's consent was crucial for the final decision.
Political observers here believe that since the Congress high command wanted to have a bigger say in the ticket distribution in Punjab, it had selected the two-time Chief Minister of Rajasthan, considered very close to the Nehru-Gandhi family, for the task of screening of candidates.
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This, in turn, has strengthened his position within the party in the State and made an addition to his stature. A PCC member said here on Monday that Mr. Gehlot would not only select candidates with the winning potential, but also help the party in formulating its strategy for the high-stakes polls. Mr. Gehlot also enjoys good proximity with AICC secretary in charge of Punjab and former MP Harish Choudhary, who hails from Rajasthan.
Besides Mr. Gehlot, the screening committee comprises AICC secretary Asha Kumari, Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh, Congress Legislature Party leader Charanjit Singh Channi, former Indian Youth Congress chief Rajiv Satav and former MP Meenakshi Natarajan.