No ticket, Cong MLA raises banner of revolt

Patiala, April 4

A day after the Congress named former Union minister and Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s wife Preneet Kaur as its candidate from Patiala, party Amloh MLA Kaka Randeep Singh today raised a banner of revolt.
Kaka Randeep, who had also sought ticket for Patiala, has refused to campaign for Preneet Kaur or the party in Nabha, where he reportedly has a significant support base.

The firebrand MLA from Amloh, Kaka Randeep, says that he respects the decision of the party high command. “I won’t be campaigning, but we have a senior MLA from Nabha, Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, who is also a minister in the government. He should work hard to ensure votes for the party and its candidate,” he says.

Talking about his role in the upcoming polls, Kaka Randeep said he was an elected MLA from Amloh, which falls in the Fatehgarh Sahib constituency. “Amloh is my karam bhoomi now. I will not campaign for Preneet in Nabha. I had intimated the party high command about this beforehand. I had told them that I would enter Patiala only if I got the ticket,” he told The Tribune.

In January, Kaka Randeep had expressed his displeasure with Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh during the latter’s meeting with Malwa zone MLAs. Kaka Randeep, a four-time MLA, had told the CM, “You may be a good administrator, but you are inaccessible.” Last year, he had met state Assembly speaker, Rana KP Singh, and resigned from House panels.

Asked if anyone from the Congress has approached him to canvass for Preneet Kaur in Nabha, he said that he was yet to be asked for campaigning. “However I have made my point clear that I will not canvass for anyone in Nabha,” says Randeep, who had remained Nabha MLA from 2012-17.