The Congress has released the first list of candidates for all poll-bound states over the last couple of days, except for Rajasthan. But there might be a breakthrough in the case of Rajasthan now, with the Congress’s Central Election Committee (CEC), headed by party president Mallikarjun Kharge, set to hold a meeting Wednesday to select the candidates for the polls in the state. As Hamza Khan reported, the reason for the delay has again stirred talks of the resurfacing of the old differences between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and senior state party leader Sachin Pilot. Congress leaders justify the delay saying the CM himself has been busy lately, announcing a spree of schemes and benefits ahead of the model code of conduct. Few buy this argument though. Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra suggests that the choice of poll nominees has been tough as the party received over “3,000 names” for the 200 seats, or an average of 15 applications per constituency. The party seems to be weighing all its options by considering the Assembly and Lok Sabha-wise surveys by the All India Congress Committee (AICC), a report by the Pradesh Election Committee (PEC) headed by Dotasra, as well as a survey of possible candidates by a private agency. However, it might all come down to “winnability”. At the Jaipur airport on Tuesday, before heading to Delhi for a Congress Screening Committee meeting, Gehlot told reporters that MLAs involved with development work in their areas cannot be denied a party ticket. He also stressed that “winnability” would be a key factor in determining the candidature of ticket aspirants. The CM said the CEC’s meeting would be held Wednesday. राजस्थान में हमारी कांग्रेस सरकार को गिराने की भाजपा ने पूरी कोशिश की। कई राज्यों में पिछले दरवाज़े से भाजपा ने सरकारें गिराकर अपनी सरकार बनाई। पर राजस्थान की मज़बूत जनता ने, वीर जनता ने, कांग्रेस की सरकार गिरने नहीं दी तभी उनको यहाँ पर हमारी जन-कल्याण की सैंकड़ों योजनाओं का… pic.twitter.com/865SvWKgFX — Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) October 16, 2023 "If democracy has to be saved, then the Congress has to be brought in Rajasthan. This is what I believe," Gehlot said, adding that the government's schemes and incentives were going to propel it to victory. Rahul, Priyanka in Telangana Top Congress leaders, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, will make their way to Telangana Wednesday to address rallies in the Mulugu district of the state. Mark my words, the Congress party is going to win in Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and Mizoram. Congress party always works for the people. Rajasthan has the finest healthcare policy, Karnataka provides an incomparable social security net, while… pic.twitter.com/Nd2JfMUqNf — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) October 17, 2023 In Telangana, the Congress is hoping to replicate its win in neighbouring Karnataka, where the Assembly polls were held in May this year. The state party unit appears to be energised as it looks to take on the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) led by CM K Chandrashekar Rao or KCR. Last month, the Congress announced six poll guarantees at a public meeting attended by its central leadership — including Kharge and former party chiefs, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul. The party is yet to announce its manifesto, though. In an interview to PTI, D Sridhar Babu, chairman of the Telangana Congress’s manifesto committee said the party was hoping to give ten grams of gold to eligible women at the time of marriage, besides Rs 1 lakh cash and free internet to students. This is in line with the Congress’s pitch of welfarism. In the weekly Road to 2024 column, Manoj CG wrote that the Congress’s poll-bound state units are coming up with promises depending on the local situation and are getting central leaders, the likes of Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka, to announce them. The party followed a similar tactic in Karnataka, announcing the five guarantees, which has now become its template. While a section of the party’s central leaders are not convinced about the ambitious electoral promises being made by the state units — as they believe it will drain the exchequer — the overwhelming view in the party is that it has to strike a clear “left of the centre’” path, leaning on both social justice and welfarism to counter the BJP’s Hindutva push and the freebie blitz of some of the regional parties. It is apparent that the party’s manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections will be packed with such promises. Himanta Sarma in Chhattisgarh Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma will be in Chhattisgarh Wednesday to campaign in Kawardha, a seat currently represented by Congress minister Mohammad Akbar. Kawardha saw communal riots in 2021. Vinod Sharma, the BJP candidate against Akbar, is a prime accused in the riot. Sarma will then head to Lormi, a seat held by BJP MP and state in-charge Arun Sao. President in Bihar President Droupadi Murmu will be on a three-day visit to Bihar starting Wednesday. The President will launch the fourth Krishi Road Map (2023-2028) of Bihar in Patna on Wednesday, according to a statement issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan. A day later, she will attend the first convocation of Mahatma Gandhi Central University in Motihari and interact with the members of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) of Bihar at the Raj Bhavan later in the day. President Murmu will also participate in the convocations of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Patna and of the Central University of South Bihar, the statement added. — With PTI inputs
