Selection of candidates on basis of district panel report,surveys: Charak
The Opposition Congress will announce its State Election Committee this week to kickstart the process of selecting candidates for the Punjab polls. The five-member committee will comprise Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Captain Amarinder Singh,state in-charge Gulchain Singh Charak and three other senior leaders.
The state election committee will shortlist poll candidates on the basis of District Congress Committee reports and surveys conducted by the party. It will submit its report to the state-level screening committee which after scrutiny will send the list to the Central Election Committee chaired by AICC president Sonia Gandhi for its nod.
Charak said the state election committee will be announced within a day or two. On criteria for selection of candidates,he said it will be done on the basis of reports of district panel and surveys conducted by the party.
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It is an entirely democratic exercise. The district panel invites applications and everyone in the party has a right to submit an application. The panel will shortlist candidates and send its list to the state election committee. The party has also conducted its own surveys on winnable candidates, he said.
Amarinder has requested the party high command for early announcement of poll candidates and the first list comprising sitting MLAs and top contenders is likely to be unveiled by this month-end.
The ticket distribution will more or less follow Amarinders formula of 85:32 85 for the established order,including sitting MLAs and senior leaders and 32 for new faces from among women and youth.
According to a senior party leader,all sitting MLAs will be fielded again lest there is very valid and grave reason for denying them a ticket.
Sitting MLAs whose constituencies now figure in the reserved list post delimitation such as Nabha,Dirba,Qila Raipur will be allotted other seats. The clamour for tickets is likely to be most intense in seats which have no old claimants,including new constituencies which have been reserved for SC candidates,those de-reserved and new constituencies added following the delimitation exercise, he said.
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