Cong poll panel for ticket to all 17 sitting party MLAS

Screening committee to shortlist candidates for all 90 seats by September 29, central panel likely to put its stamp on final list by October 1

CHANDIGARH:THE members of the Haryana Congress election committee on Thursday unanimously espoused party ticket for all the 17 sitting MLAS for the upcoming assembly elections scheduled for October 21.

The panel’s first meeting was held in Delhi and it was helmed by party state president Kumari Selja and Congress legislature party (CLP) leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda. The committee also recommended adequate representation to all the communities, besides women and young candidates.

Now, the screening committee will shortlist candidates for all the 90 seats by September 29 before the central election committee headed by Sonia Gandhi finalises the candidates, which is likely by October 1 as the filing of nominations ends on October 4.

The meeting was attended by all the 30-odd members, including former CLP leader Kiran Choudhry, Randeep Surjewala and Capt Ajay Yadav, besides other leaders of party’s different wings. However, former party chief Ashok Tanwar did not attend the meeting.

When asked the reason, Tanwar said he himself had decided not to attend the meeting as there could be a confrontation with some members who were

“against” him. “I decided to avoid confrontation and instead work to strengthen the party,” he said, adding that he was already campaigning for the party and held meetings on Thursday too.

Congress had won 15 seats in the 2014 assembly elections

though its number rose to 17 after both Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) MLAS Kuldeep Bishnoi (MLA from Adampur) and his wife Renuka (Hansi) joined the Congress and merged the party into the grand old party.

Elaborating on the meeting,

Selja said it took place in a cordial atmosphere with all the members giving a variety of suggestions to strengthen the party. “It was unanimously decided that the party gave adequate representation to all the communities to strike a social balance,” she said.