Congress Screening Committee meeting concludes in Delhi
Oct 17, 2023
New Delhi [India], October 18 : The Congress on Tuesday night concluded its screening committee meeting in the national capital for the upcoming Rajasthan assembly polls.
The meeting was attended by Congress leaders such as Gaurav Gogoi, Sachin Pilot, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, and other senior leaders of the party.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot was spotted leaving the Congress 'war room' at 15 GRG after participating in the meeting.
"Who will get the ticket and who will not, this is decided by the screening committee. We only gave our views," Rajasthan Congress President, Govind Singh Dotasara, said while speaking to reporters after the meeting.
"We do not know who will get the ticket," he added.
The Congress is yet to release its list of candidates in the state while the BJP has released its first list fielding as many as seven MPs in the assembly polls in Rajasthan.
Meanwhile, as the state assembly polls are approaching, the parties are leaving no stone unturned in their endeavours aiming to achieve the maximum number of seats in the polls.
As part of their preparation for the upcoming Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh polls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s core groups from both states convened separate meetings here in the national capital on Tuesday.
Both meetings took place at the residence of BJP's national president JP Nadda and focused on the BJP's ticket-sharing strategy.
Apart from JP Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Rajasthan BJP Chief CP Joshi, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Rajasthan BJP in charge Pralhad Joshi, and former state CM Vasundhara Raje, among other leaders were also present.
According to sources, the party deliberated over the allocation of 159 out of 200 seats in the Rajasthan assembly, building upon the previous list of 41 candidates. The BJP is expected to announce the names of 80 to 90 candidates in its next list.
In a bid to secure the Rajput community's votes, constituting 15 per cent of the state's total voters, the party has introduced two new 'Rajput' leaders, Maharaja Vishwaraj Singh Mewad and Bhawani Singh Kalve.
Following the 2018 Rajasthan assembly polls, where the BJP struggled to win over the Rajput community, the party is actively working to gain their support.
The BJP released the list of 41 candidates for the assembly polls on October 1.
However, reports of discontent among BJP members in Rajasthan surfaced after the initial candidate list was released by the party.
During the meeting, it was decided that the BJP would make efforts to persuade the 'disappointed' leaders, considering the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2024, according to sources.
The Election Commission of India changed the poll dates of Rajasthan Assembly elections from November 23 to November 25.
The counting of votes will take place on 3 December.
The Congress began its election campaign for the upcoming assembly election in Rajasthan on October 16 with "Kaam Kiya Dil se, Congress Sarkar Phir se" as its slogan.
The Rajasthan Assembly consists of 200 constituencies that will be contested. Since its formation, the state has been dominated by the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Congress secured a victory in the last elections in 2018 with 101 seats.
