Cong candidates list in 4 pollbound states next month

The Congress is yet to shortlist candidates for the upcoming assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Mizoram in spite of an August 15 deadline set by party president Rahul Gandhi for the announcement, according to three senior functionaries familiar with the matter.

However, the functionaries added, the process is moving faster than usual and is likely to be completed by the end of September for the polls scheduled in November-December. The process of identifying candidates in the Congress usually begins a month before the elections and the list is out roughly at the time of filing of nominations.

In June, Gandhi had formed screening committees to kickstart the selection of candidates for the four states. But the panels are yet to meet because the process to get feedback from workers on the ground is taking longer than anticipated though the members have informal discussions, the functionaries said.

A screening committee shortlists the candidates after going through the recommendations of state units for ticket allocation and forwards the names to the party’s central election committee for final approval. At a rally at Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh on May 18, Gandhi had said that 90% of the candidates will be finalised by August 15. The head of the screening committee for Madhya Pradesh, Madhusudan Mistry, said the shortlisting of candidates will only start after September 4 and majority of contestants will be finalised by

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