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| Race for LC seat within Cong hots up | | Mangat, Jugal front runners; others also vie hard | | Kunal Shrivatsa
Jammu, Mar 6: As the bye-election to the lone seat of Member Legislative Council (MLC) is nearing closer, the race to seek the party mandate within the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) is getting hotter with each passing day.
The election to the LC seat, which had fallen vacant due to the demise of Congress leader Yashpal Khajuria on December 27 last, will be held on March 22.
If sources in Congress are to be believed then there are many contenders and aspirants who are vying hard to get the mandate, however, party heavyweight and former Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma and former Minister Jugal Kishore Sharma are the front runners.
The sources maintained that though it is neck to neck between the two Sharmas, the Ex Minister Jugal Kishore has slight edge as he hails from Reasi, a major part of erstwhile Udhampur district which was given representation by the party in the LC election in April, 2011. Besides, Jugal has clean image and strong foothold in the erstwhile Udhampur district.
It is pertinent to mention here that in the last elections to the LC, the party had opted for senior leader Yash Pal Khajuria, as the leadership from Udhampur had sought representation for the district in the Upper House of the State Legislature, the sources said.
The sources maintained that the 'Udhampur factor' is again on the forefront and could once more play a role in deciding the party candidate as the lobby from Udhampur for the second time in row is staking its claim over the seat which could turn the tables against senior Sharma.
The sources further said apart from these two stalwarts, the hectic lobbying for the vacant LC seat is going on among several other Congress leaders who are trying their best to get a nomination by conveying to the party high command their own 'valid arguments', 'credentials' and 'recommendations' in support of their candidature.
While some are claiming the candidature on the grounds that the party should give ticket to a person belonging to the minority community, the others are citing seniority to back their claims, the sources maintained.
Interestingly some of the female folks within the party have thrown their hats in the ring on the basis of non-representation to female Congress leaders in the Upper House, they added.
"There are number of names doing the rounds including senior leaders Bhupinder Singh Pathania, Member Parliament Lal Singh's wife and former MLA from Basohli Kanta Andotra, former Legislative Council Deputy Chairman Arvinder Singh Micky…..Others are also trying their luck including Ex Councilor Rani Bloeria, Gurmukh Singh and Amolak Singh but the real race is undoubtedly between Mangat Ram and Jugal Kishore," sources said further adding, "All are making strenuous efforts to be in the reckoning, however, the final name is yet to be decided and it is only up to the party high command to give a nod to the actual choice."
With the issuance of notification for the LC seat today, the attempts of the aspirants to clinch the mandate would get more vigorous in the coming days and it will become more frantic until the picture gets clearer.
"It will take another two to three days to finalize the name… It is most likely that the party high command would okay the candidature by March 10…. While zeroing on a particular candidate, the party would consider various parameters," sources said
"The final decision will be taken in accordance with the seniority and merit of the candidates in consultation with all concerned," they added.
Meanwhile, notification for the LC seat was issued today and the candidates have been given six days time to file nominations with the last date fixed as March 12.
The nominations will be scrutinized on March 13 and the last date for the withdrawal of candidatures will be March 15.
The polling for the said seat would be held on March 22 in between 10:00 am to 2:00 pm and the counting of votes in the event of a contest will also be held on the same day at 3 pm.
It is worthwhile to mention here that the Election Commission of India (ECI) on February 17 last had announced bye-election for one seat of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council. |
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