With the Shiromani Akali Dal and Aam Aadmi Party already disclosing most of their candidates for the 2017 polls, the Punjab Congress on Sunday authorised its national president Sonia Gandhi to take the final decision on ticket allocation.
The 34-member Punjab Congress Election Committee, headed by the State party chief Capt Amarinder Singh, passed a one-line resolution in its meeting on Sunday saying that the eventual decision on the selection of candidates for the Punjab assembly poll is left to All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Sonia Gandhi and the committee would send its suggestions to the party leadership for further action.
Expressing full faith in the AICC president, the meeting decided to leave the final decision in the matter of selection of party candidates for the Punjab elections to her.
Capt Amarinder, talking to media persons after the meeting, said that all the members of the committee had been provided dockets with names of all the prospective candidates for each of the 117 Assembly constituencies in the state.
“The committee members have been asked to check out the report cards of the ticket seekers in the docket and come out with their suggestions, if any, by 11 am tomorrow, after which the list, with suggestions, will be sent to the Congress Screening Committee,” he added.
Reiterating that merit will be the key criteria in the selection of the candidates by the party, Capt Amarinder said that the suggestions of the committee members, along with the shortlisted names, would be forwarded to the Congress Screening Committee, slated to meet in New Delhi under the chairmanship of Ashok Gehlot on November 23 and 24.
The screening committee will then submit its views to the Congress leadership, with Sonia Gandhi taking the final decision on the ticket allocation, he said.
The first list, of candidates for the polls, is expected to be released around the first week of December, after thorough scrutiny of the shortlisted names, which the Punjab Congress Election Committee will send to the party's central leadership.
While SAD has announced 69 candidates out of total 94 seats it would contest in alliance with the BJP, the AAP has released 79 names.