The Congress party has further tightened its criteria for candidacy in the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections as the party was unlikely to give party tickets to those who have lost two consecutive elections.
This decision follows the party’s earlier stance of barring sitting Members of Parliament (MPs) from contesting the Assembly polls.
The party’s Screening Committee, led by senior leader Ajay Maken, has been working hard to finalize candidates out of over 2,500 applicants for the 90 Assembly seats of Haryana. On the second consecutive day of deliberations, sources within the party revealed that candidates for 60 seats have already been finalized, with discussions on the remaining 30 seats set to continue on Friday.
Deepak Babaria, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge for Haryana, confirmed the progress, stating, “More than 60% of the work has been completed. The Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting is likely to be held on September 2. We are fully prepared for the elections, everyone knows that this is not the Election Commission, it is the BJP Commission… As per my knowledge, it is final that no Congress MP will contest the election.”
Reacting over the reports that the party’s decision not field sitting MPs has come as a jolt to senior party leaders like Kumari Selja and Randeep Surjewala, who were among the front-runners for chief ministerial candidates, Babaria clarified that contesting the Assembly election does not necessarily mean being in the running for the chief ministerial position.
As per the party leaders the screening committee will submit its report to the Congress Election Committee on Friday, which is expected to finalize the candidates and the list of the contenders may come out after September 2 meeting.
Meanwhile, Congress MP Kumari Selja, who was considered a contender for the chief ministerial position, responded to the party’s decision regarding MPs. “It is my wish to contest the Haryana assembly elections, but the final decision will be made by the party high command. As a true soldier of the Congress, I can tell that the one who gets the blessings of the high command becomes the Chief Minister. There may be many contenders, but the final approval will be of the high command,” she said.
Selja expressed confidence that the Congress would form the next government in Haryana, emphasizing that the party high command would ultimately decide the chief ministerial candidate.
As the candidate selection process nears completion, ticket aspirants from Haryana have been camping in Delhi for the past several days. On Thursday, former Haryana Minister and JJP MLA from Tohana Devinder Singh Babli was also spotted among those seeking a Congress ticket, highlighting the intense competition and anticipation surrounding the upcoming elections.
