Contrary to the claims of the Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi that the party would announce the names of candidates three months in advance the party is still struggling to initiate the process even as the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections are just two months away from now.
Gandhi, during his visit to the State in April this year, had announced that the party candidates would be declared either by June end or in the first week of July. Following this, the State Congress Committee had constituted a screening committee for selecting the candidates on June 16. However, the committee has failed to move a little bit ahead even after two months. Meanwhile, while the biodatas of the ticket aspirants have flooded the Congress headquarters and distribution of ticket has not been started. The screening committee constituted by the State Congress headed by former parliamentarian from Gujarat Madhusudan Mistry has failed even to begin the working till now.
Mistry while talking to The Pioneer over the issue said, “In Congress a committee is constituted in the states under the leadership of State Congress president, it is this committee that proposes names to the screening committee for final approval.” Mistry further said that once this committee is constituted, the State leadership will send me invite to visit Bhopal and after that the formal discussions over the names of the ticket aspirants would take place. However, when asked that how long would this process take and when would the party start announcing candidates, Mistry was reluctant in telling any specific period and replied that soon the process would begin.
Congress general secretary in-charge for the state Mohan Prakash had on August 18 told the media persons in Bhopal that all the committees of the party would be announced in next couple of days, these committees include the much awaited state election campaign committee, election committee and election manifesto committee. But till now none of these committees have been announced. Congress sources informed that the committees are ready and could be announced at any moment.
Though the observers sent by the All India Congress Committee in June toured the state and submitted a panel each for the assembly constituencies of their charge to the state and national leadership. District and Block Congress Committees (DCC, BCC) have either sent the panels formed by them for the assembly constituencies of their respective districts or are in the process of sending it to the state leadership. However, sources from the state Congress informed that all the DCC and BCC’s would submit their panels positively to the state Congress president by August 25. Congress sources informed that the delay in announcing the party candidates is due to the tussle between regional satraps who intends that maximum names of their supporters should be included in the panels formed by BCC and DCCs.