leaders lobbying for Congress tickets to contest the ensuing assembly elections in Chhattisgarh have shifted their battlefield to New Delhi.
The State’s main opposition party has already begun the process to select candidates for different assembly constituencies. The selection committee led by party’s state chief Charan Das Mahant has also held in the meanwhile two rounds of meeting.
Although the senior party functionaries were discouraging the aspirants and asking them not to come to Delhi, large numbers of party leaders, workers are making beeline to the office of All India Congress committee.
Sources said at least 12 sitting party legislators are currently camping at Delhi to ensure that they are granted party tickets again.Initially senior state leaders like Charan Das Mahant and leader of opposition in the state assembly Ravindra Choubey had assured the sitting members of the party that they would be given tickets again. However the legislators do not want to take any chance.
Sources said All Indian Congress Committee vice president Rahul Gandhi has developed a ticket distribution formula. He reportedly asked the party leaders to give top priority to winability factor during the selection of candidates.
Sources said three separate private agencies were engaged to survey different constituencies and the selection committee is likely to base its selection on the basis of such surveys.
Party insiders said the list reportedly prepared by Mahant-Choubey team does not have the right names and they have shortlisted few candidates those are close to them.
They said former chief minister Ajit Jogi allegedly was against grant of tickets to at least three sitting legislators. They include Rudra Kumar Guru, Rajkamal Singhania, and Gurmukh Singh Hora.
Apart from All India Congress Committee office, the other places which was drawing crowd in Delhi include the residence of Charan Das Mahant, Chhattisgarh Sadan and at the residence of former chief minister Ajit Jogi.