Punjab: Punjab Congress Chief Navjot Singh Sidhu on Sunday informed that the party will decide on the list of candidates for upcoming Assembly polls in the state soon.
"The list of candidates for the upcoming assembly polls will be finalised and announced soon. The screening committee meeting is underway and we will make our decision after a careful thought. Congress always announces its candidates at the end," Sidhu said.
Further, speaking on how Congress would run its poll campaign, Sidhu said, "I hope things will change after January 15. Till then, directions are clear that you will have to campaign digitally. In case things go worse, then we'll have to pass this litmus test."
The Assembly polls in Punjab are due on February 14, while emphasis is being put on digital election campaigns.
During another virtual press conference, the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president said that being the first one to kick start a virtual campaign, the Congress has already been emphasising on the importance of digitisation and maintaining a virtual interaction with the electorate. He further highlighted that Punjab Congress has maximum engagement and outreach in digital space in Punjab, implying that the party is ready for an online campaign with an already initiated coordination with the workers and leaders at district, assembly and booth levels.
Sidhu also confirmed that the Social Media War Room of the Punjab Congress already has more than 10k WhatsApp groups, whereas efforts to reach people on booth levels via Facebook, WhatsApp and other digital means are also underway.
He further attempted to highlight that it is the need of the hour to decentralise power by empowering the panchayats and other local bodies, ensuring that their functioning is digitalised. It said that amid the frivolous issues in the nation grabbing people's attention, it was forgotten that the panchayat has the power to perform 170 functions and levy 12 different kind of taxes.
Speaking on the Punjab Model, Sidhu said that the Punjab Model is not a personal/self-serving model, it is the model of the people of Punjab. It is a tailor-made solution for the issues prevalent in Punjab which are created after intensive research conducted on the state and its functioning. The real stakeholders of the Punjab Model are its people and PPCC is soon going to pave the way for the people of Punjab through a WhatsApp service to provide their inputs to the Punjab Model and seek clarifications, he said.
Sidhu further informed that the party aims to create a 'Digital Punjab' where over 150 government services, permits and approvals will be made available to people at their doorstep. The revolution is intended to begin with first of its kind "Digital Election" which is planned to be held in Punjab and pave the way for digitalisation for all other activities moving further, Sidhu added.
Navjot Singh Sidhu further said that the Punjab Model intends to create a democratic process in the state of Punjab and is based on complete transparency, which is exactly what the 'Digital Punjab' will help the state achieve.
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