Congress not to appoint district-level observers

In a strategic move, the state Congress has decided not to appoint observers at district level to receive applications from the party ticket aspirants for the assembly elections in Rajasthan, which are expected to be announced soon.

A senior All India Congress Committee (AICC) leader associated with the candidate selection process said the party will not be receiving applications from the ticket aspirants, which was in practice earlier. “This time, the screening committee (of the Congress) will work on names suggested by district and block presidents, AICC-appointed coordinators, survey reports and discussions with senior leaders,” he added.

“AICC president Rahul Gandhi feels that with such a big organisational structure till ground level, why there is a need to receive applications by appointing observers. The organisational structure at various levels and the committee constituted can scrutinise the names from the panel suggested,” he said.

The leader said that appointment of observers leads to groupism at ground level, which is not good in an election year.

Commenting over the issue, a senior leader of the party from Rajasthan said, “It (not appointing observers at district level) is a welcoming initiative, as it leads to tug of war and conflict. The party knows who is working actively 365 days and has hold in a constituency; the work is assessed by senior leaders.”

Meanwhile, 400 block presidents of the Congress in Rajasthan have submitted the fivename panel of probable candidates to the AICC coordinators from their respective assembly constituency. The panel submitted by the block chiefs has already become the talking point with many of them recommending their own name or of the district president’s name on priority.

A senior office-bearer of the state Congress on the condition of anonymity said that involvement of block and district presidents in the process of selecting candidates is not new, as they play important role in every election. “The candidates will be selected on the basis of the report by AICC-appointed coordinators, survey and discussions with senior leaders; rest is mere a process,” the leader said.

Though the screening committee chaired by senior Congress leader Selja Kumari plans to submit a tentative list of candidates to AICC president Rahul Gandhi by September-end and a final list by mid-October, the constitution of Pradesh Election Committee (PEC) is still awaited. The district presidents will submit their panel of candidates from the constituencies to the PEC, which thereafter will be forwarded to the screening committee for assessment.

JAIPUR: