Congress poll tickets for all Delhi ministers

Congress in Delhi has decided to send most of the sitting MLAs and all the ministers back into contest for the Assembly elections in a bid to retain the face of the government and count on positive incumbency.

Party officials added that Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit would seek re-election from Gole Market Assembly constituency from where she won the last election by a margin of over 5,000 votes, putting all speculation to rest. According to AICC sources, about 50 names were cleared by the Central Election Committee headed by party president Sonia Gandhi, late tonight. Names of all the five ministers and DPCC chief Prem Singh figure on the list, which is expected to be released tomorrow. Power and Transport Minister Ajay Maken will contest from Rajouri Garden, Finance Minister Mahinder Singh Saathi from Vishnu Garden, Health Minister A.K. Walia from Geeta Colony, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Haroon Yusuf from Ballimaran and Education Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan from Mangolpuri.

The sitting MLAs who are said to have been dropped are Tughlakabad MLA Sish Pal, Karol Bagh MLA Moti Lal Bakolia and Mahipalpur MLA Mahendra Battewala. About 20 names — including former ministers Narendra Nath and Yoganand Shastri — are still pending decision. The party is also yet to decide on a candidate to take on Delhi BJP chief Madan Lal Khurana.