Kaypee silent on Santokh, but says will work for Cong
Monday, 22/04/2019
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JALANDHAR: Former member of Parliament (MP) Mohinder Singh Kaypee may have finally softened his rebellious tone, but he has not yet cleared his stand on supporting the candidature of Congress candidate from Jalandhar, Santokh Chaudhary.
Upset over the ticket given to Chaudhary, the former state Congress chief had indicated he would contest Lok Sabha elections and may form a separate Congress Taksali party. The former MP had even visited Delhi twice to hold meetings with the high command in the past few days, where Kaypee was reportedly assured of a suitable position by the party high command.
“I am a loyal Congress worker and will work for the party till the end. I am not joining any party or contesting polls,” he said.
However, he remained mum about extending his support to Chaudhary. When asked whether he would accompany Chaudhary for the filing of his nomination on Monday in the presence of CM Capt Amarinder Singh, he said, “It is yet not final and I will decide later about joining the party at tomorrow’s event.”
Kaypee, a senior Dalit face of the Congress, carries the political legacy of his father Darshan Singh Kaypee, former minister and a five-time MLA from Jalandhar. He was Jalandhar MP during the previous Congress regime at the Centre, but in 2014 general elections, he lost to the BJP candidate from Hoshiarpur.
The Congress high command, including cabinet minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Raj Kumar Verka, Pargat, former Congress MLA Ashwani Sekhri and Jalandhar MLAs had approached the former MP in the past to convince him to stay and support the party.
Even the Capt had expressed annoyance over his dissent and advised him to work for the party.
He said that Kaypee has unsuccessfully contested the polls thrice. His wife was also given an opportunity to contest elections, but she, too, lost. If this time the party has chosen another candidate, Kaypee should support him.
A senior Congress leader said that Kaypee had a telephonic talk with the chief minister and he has assured to extend full support to the party after former MP had held a meeting with senior leaders including Ahmed Patel in Delhi who reportedly asked him to approach the Capt to settle this matter.
