Madhya Pradesh: Congress mulling over 50 seats, may issue first list by August

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Congress is mulling over 50 seats where the party has been biting dust for many years.

So, it wants to issue a list of 50 candidates as early as possible.

The party plans to issue the first list of candidates by July-end or in August.

An election committee will be set up in the state, besides the party high command will form a screening committee, so it will issue any list only after these panels sift through the names.

Most of these seats are the ones where the party has been continuously losing elections.

The party may soon issue the first list, containing the names of those legislators and former legislators, who are sure to get tickets.

According to sources, MPCC president Kamal Nath is not in favour of declaring the names of candidates early.

He wants to declare the names of candidates after a survey just before giving tickets, so that he may choose the right candidates.

Apart from the survey, the opinions of former chief minister Digvijaya Singh will carry weight in selecting candidates for the seats where the party has lost polls.

Singh is reviewing the party’s prospects in these seats on the advice of Nath who is counting on Singh’s suggestions for selecting candidates for these constituencies.

Nevertheless, several leaders of the Congress are mounting pressure on the party’s top brass to declare the names of the candidates early, so that they may start working in their constituencies.

If the names of candidates are declared early, there are chances of rebellion in the party.

The constituencies that may be included in the first list are Lahar, Chhindwara, Multai, Sonkachch, Raghogarh, Jabalpur west, Kukshi, Khategaon, Bagli, Ichhawar, Bhopal central, Govindpura, Vidisha, Rehli, Rau, Gwalior east, Rewa, Churhat and Mandsaur.

A few leaders of the party are opposed to declaring the names early. Such leaders feel that once the names of candidates are declared, the BJP will have an opportunity to make a strategy.