Jalandhar, Feb 21: The Punjab unit of the Congress has invited former Union finance minister Dr Manmohan Singh and party general secretary Ambika Soni to contest the Lok Sabha elections from the state. A Congress spokesman told reporters the party and its state president H S Hanspal was of the view that Manmohan Singh was the most favourable and best suited individual to be the candidate for any of the 13 Lok Sabha seats from this state and if he consented to contest election from any of the seats including Jalandhar, the party workforce and the people would see to it that he returned to the new Lok Sabha. However, it was Singh who had to take a decision on the offer or the wishes of the party ranks and files in the state. Singh was yet to accord his consent for contesting the Lok Sabha elections, the spokesman said. He is presently the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha. Similarly, the party state committee had the name of AICC general secretary Ambika Soni in the single name panel from the Hoshiarpur parliamentary constituency. The party high command was to take a decision on the panel of candidates forwarded by the party state committee for all the 13 Lok Sabha seats, the spokesman added. Bureau Report