It's family first in Punjab when it comes to fielding covering candidates for the April 30 Lok Sabha polls as major political players like SAD, BJP and Congress are trusting none other than their closest relatives.
Withdrawal of nominations for the 13 seats in the state is on April 12. There are nearly 20 covering candidates in the fray in Punjab.
Parties name a covering candidate so that if the main nominee's papers are rejected, the covering candidate becomes its official nominee.
According to the Election Commission website, a majority of the candidates have preferred their spouses as covering candidates.
Punjab Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa, in fray from his traditional Gurdaspur seat, has his wife and sitting MLA Charanjit Kaur as his covering candidate.
In Hoshiarpur, Sudesh Sampla has been named as covering candidate for her husband and BJP candidate Vijay Sampla while sitting Congress MP Mohinder Singh Kaypee has his wife Suman Kaypee as cover.
Same is the case in Anandpur Sahib -- Balwinder Kaur named for husband and former MP Prem Singh Chandumajra of SAD and Ludhiana too where BSP's Navjot Singh Mandair filed his papers with wife Jasvir Kaur being the covering candidate.
Union minister Preneet Kaur of Congress, seeking re- election for the third consecutive time from her traditional Patiala seat, is being covered by her son Raninder Singh. SAD's Deepinder Dhillon filed his papers with his wife Rupinder Kaur as covering candidate from Patiala.
From Jalandhar seat, Santokh Singh Choudhary of Congress has named his son Vikramjit Singh as a covering candidate. Sitting MP and SAD candidate from Bathinda, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, filed her nomination papers in Punjab with her brother and Punjab Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia as a cover.
Gurdas Singh Badal, father of Congress candidate Manpreet Singh Badal and brother of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, filed his nomination papers as the covering candidate for Manpreet.
This trend of having a covering candidate from the family was also reflected in Ferozepur, where Krishna Rani has filed as a cover for husband and SAD candidate Sher Singh Ghubaya.
SAD MLA from Bassi Pathana assembly segment, Nirmal Singh, who is husband of sitting MP and party candidate from Faridkot parliamentary constituency Paramjit Kaur Gulshan, filed nomination papers as her covering candidate.
Krishan Kaur, wife of Congress candidate from Faridkot Joginder Singh Panjgrain, also filed papers as the covering candidate for her husband. Sitting Congress MP Vijay Inder Singla has filed papers from his bastion Sangrur with his wife Deepa Singla as the covering candidate.
Similarly, SAD Rajya Sabha member Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa has entered the fray from Sangrur with his wife Harjeet Kaur as a covering candidate.
In Fatehgarh Sahib (reserve) seat, the official candidates of SAD and Congress have relied upon their sons as their covering candidates while filing nominations.
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