The Congress party in Madhya Pradesh is set to complete the list of candidates shortlisted for the MP Assembly elections today. According to reports, the names will then be forwarded to party Chief Rahul Gandhi, to be finalised by October 12.
Earlier this week, a meeting of the Congress screening committee was held in Delhi to decide the names of prospective candidates. The meeting was attended by committee chairman Madhusudan Mistry, state Congress president Kamal Nath, Leader of the Opposition Ajay Singh and state in-charge Deepak Babaria.
According to the sources, at least 45 names who are sitting party MLAs, have been finalised. Apart from this, 15 other names, who had lost in the last election by fewer than 2,500-3,000 votes are supposedly given another chance.
A party official said, “Names suggested by the party’s state election committee and those that have come up on the basis of the surveys done by two private agencies are being deliberated upon. Those names which are common to these three criteria are automatically being finalised. Of the rest, the party will decide after deliberations with the state leaders”.
Meanwhile Rahul Gandhi is going to hold a meeting with UP district officials. The party president will talk to field workers via video-conferencing on various issues. The recent exodus of UP migrants from Gujarat is likely to come up.
The party workers are reportedly excited about this meet. “The AICC was informed about the communication gap and this meeting is an attempt towards bridging that,” said a member of the organising committee. The meeting is also aimed at encouraging the workforce. “A direct interaction with their leader will surely have a great impact on the minds of the district and city level functionaries. The local leaders will also be told to work hand in hand with the Congress Sewa Dal, Youth Congress and Mahila Congress to create a larger impact,” an officer in the IT Cell said.
Apart from this, Rahul is also expected to take feedback on a mega-alliance as well. A tech official from AICC said, “The failed attempt to form an alliance in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan has compelled us to tread cautiously in UP. That’s why, instead of listening to the bigwigs, the AICC has decided to hold a meeting with the field workers”.