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| In departure from precedence, Cong finalizes list quite early | | Candidates for Assembly polls: Sitting MLAs to be repeated | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, June 21: After PDP, state unit of Congress is going fast track in readying up for upcoming Assembly elections in the state. The party leadership at the state level is learnt to have shortlisted candidates for most of the constituencies and they have been conveyed this message verbally to pull up their socks for contesting the polls. The party is repeating most of the sitting MLAs and Ministers besides having shortlisted strong probables for other Assembly constituencies across the state.
Taking departure from past precedence, sources said PCC chief Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz and former Chief Minister of state Ghulam Nabi Azad discussed the issue of mandate giving process be expedited as early as possible. Party sources said both the leaders in the informal meetings held recently discussed the matter threadbare and almost finalized the candidates who would be given tickets for contesting elections in the state to be held by the end of the year. While the party has decided to contest all the seats in Jammu region, it would go extra mile this time in giving tickets to more candidates in Kashmir valley where the party has not fielded any in the previous elections. The decision to this effect has been taken after taking into consideration influence of certain leaders associated with the party for a long time and prospects of garnering votes in respective constituencies, sources said, adding that a couple of these leaders have contested polls in the past as independent candidates and managed to secure good number of votes in their favour.
While the candidates whose names stand finalized have been conveyed this message verbally, a formal and official announcement would be made shortly after high command puts its stamp as a mandatory step, sources said confirming however that almost all the Ministers in current coalition regime would be repeated from their respective constituencies. At the same time due thought has been given to the candidates who unsuccessfully contested the Assembly polls in 2008 yet managed to secure good vote percentage in their share. Those candidates who gave a thin victory margin to winners in 2008 would for sure be given chance once again to try their luck this year, sources explained, adding that most of these candidates hail from Jammu region where Congress would be facing tough contest not only against PDP and BJP but also its rival NC in the wake of the fact that in all probability there will be no pre poll alliance between the coalition partners. This is for the first time that Congress has started mandate giving process much early apparently due to debacle it faced in LS polls and also in accordance with aspirations of majority of the leaders that party must not lose time and focus on key decisions and strategy to be followed in the Assembly polls.
Sources said this has been widely hailed by not just candidates but the workers and cadres across the state though it has shattered hopes of a number of aspirants who had started lobbying through different quarters to secure mandate, However, in order to preempt such pressure tactics, both Azad and Soz decided to go ahead with finalizing the names, sources further said. |
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