The ticket distribution trends for the coming Lok Sabha elections once
again highlights the factor of big money exchanging hands especially
on reserved seats in all political parties.

It appears that tickets
are being given to political greenhorns only apparently on the
consideration of money factor. No work, contribution to the Scheduled
Castes community, to society in general or experience are taken into
account. This trend is worrying some NGOs working for the SC
community.

"One Kulwant Singh figures in the first list of Akali Dal candidates
from the reserved seat of Fatehgarh Sahib. He is a political
greenhorn. He has zero record of contribution to the SC community or
any kind of social work. The only thing that apparently worked in his
favour was his money power. What the Akali party's secret agenda is
remains a question mark. Interestingly he is a crorepati," said
Paramjit Singh Kainth, president of the National Scheduled Castes
Alliance.

"Another person who has got the Akali ticket from Jalandhar is the
party chief parliamentary secretary, Pawan Kumar Tinu. Trained and
nurtured in the BSP culture, Tinu had defected to the Akali Dal about
five years ago. He is among half a dozen BSP leaders who struck
lucrative bargains with Akali and Congress leaders and joined these
cash-rich mainstream parties. It is therefore not surprising that they
have contributed very little to the SC community, because that was
never their primary concern," said Paramjit Singh Kainth.

"We therefore would like to alert the SC community to think twice
before voting for such turncoats for they have hoodwinked the
community to get the tickets for reserved seats. It is not likely that
they would make any contribution to the SC community for their very
purpose in politics is to do business and to enrich their personal
coffers," added Kainth." It should be known that the SC strength in
Fatehgarh Sahib alone is around 36 per cent. So the chances of their
winning is great," added Kainth.