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Known as a late starter in electoral planning, the Congress has already set about the process of selecting its candidates for Uttar Pradesh a year ahead of the elections. It has set out a four-stage selection process and claims it has completed two of those stages.
An “independent survey” of probable candidates has been done by a private agency, and a report with a similar objective prepared by AICC-appointed observers from other states, party leaders said. Now district leaders are being engaged in consultations to prepare a panel of probable candidates, which is the third stage with January 31 as the deadline.
For the fourth stage, which will involve senior leaders recommending candidates from their regions, the deadline is February 15. The final list will be based on a comparison of these four lists.
For the third stage, the AICC general secretaries in-charge of the state and the region, as well as state president Nirmal Khatri, are holding one-on-one meetings with district and block presidents in each of the 403 constituencies.
AICC general secretary Madhusudan Mistry, who camped in the state recently, has reportedly completed this stage for 11 constituencies in Bundelkhand region.
Apart from seeking a panel of two or three probables in each constituency, the AICC is taking feedback from leaders about local caste composition and probable candidates of other parties.
“It is a kind of an experiment. We hope to outdo other parties in selecting candidates on time,” Mistry told The Indian Express during his visit to UP.
“For the first time, AICC general secretaries and the state president will sit directly with district and block presidents, separately in each constituency, to prepare a panel of probable candidates.”
The second stage was carried out in November, when the AICC appointed 20 observers – including Neeraj Dangi, Jagdish Chandra and Sanyan Lodha from Rajasthan, Mrinal Pant from Madhya Pradesh, Nitin Govalkal from Maharashtra – to survey 18 to 20 constituencies each. The Congress had sent AICC observers in 2012 too but that exercise started only a few months before the elections. Block presidents were rarely consulted during selection.
About the four stages, Mistry said, “The survey by an independent agency and reports by AICC observers are done. The preparation of panels in discussion with the district and block level heads will be completed by the end of this month and then we will take suggestions from senior leaders”.
The BSP has identified about 80 per cent of its candidates but not announced a list yet. The BJP and Samajwadi Party have not yet started such an exercise.
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