Tanwar to boycott Delhi meet today, says not quitting party

FORMER STATE CONG CHIEF SAYS HE WON’T ATTEND POLL PANEL MEET AS MANY WERE AGAINST HIM

NEWDELH: i Former chief of Haryana Congress Ashok Tanwar has decided to boycott the party election committee meeting, scheduled for Thursday in Delhi to decide on candidates for the assembly elections.

An upset Tanwar, replaced by Kumari Selja as state party chief recently, told IANS here on Wednesday he will not attend the meeting called by former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda as “many” in the election committee were “against” him.

“I will not attend the meeting as many in the committee are not happy with me. They have been against me for the last five years,” he said, highlighting the divisions in the party unit.

The 90-member assembly will go to polls on October 21.

When asked whether he will be campaigning for the Congress, Tanwar said he was campaigning for the party. However, Tanwar supporters said he was miffed at his removal from the post on September 4. However, the Congress leader ruled out quitting the party. “I am working for the party for the last 25 years and there is no question of leaving the party,” he said.

The Haryana Congress has received over thousand applications for party tickets. The PEC meet will filter the applications and send its recommendation to the screening committee, which will forward the names to the central election committee, headed by Sonia Gandhi, for the final decision.

The Congress is aiming to wrest power from the BJP ruling the state for the last five years.