Tewari undecided despite party's nod

Uncertainty prevailed over the candidature of I&B Minister Manish Tewari from Ludhiana parliamentary constituency with Congress sources saying that he had sought some time from the party leadership to sort out his health issues.

Congress leaders had said that Tewari’s candidature has been cleared by the Central Election Committee but his name was missing from the list of candidates announced on Thursday and Friday.

A senior Congress leader said that Tewari conveyed to the party on Thursday evening to put his candidature on hold as he was yet to sort out his health issues.

Tewari has been reluctant to contest from Ludhiana fearing an adverse result. He was keen to shift to Chandigarh, a seat represented by former Railway Minister P K Bansal. Tewari’s strident campaign for a change in constituency has not gone down well with the Congress leadership.

“He is not feeling well. It will take some days to come to a conclusion,” AICC General Secretary, in charge of party affairs in Punjab, Shakeel Ahmed said.

Congress sources said that Tewari has been granted time till Monday.  Tewari was admitted to a private hospital’s cardiology department in Delhi on March 15 after he complained of uneasiness. He was discharged after two days on March 17.