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New Delhi
By Sujay Mehdudia
It is understood that the Screening Committee will complete the consultation process by Sunday and then it would be joined in the discussions by the AICC leader in charge of Delhi, Ahmed Patel, the Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, and the DPCC president, Chaudhary Prem Singh. After holding intense discussions, the Screening Committee is expected to send its recommendations to the Central Election Committee headed by the party president, Sonia Gandhi, around November 5. The CEC is expected to discuss and finalise the names of candidates for the 70 Assembly segments in Delhi by November 8 or 10. On the other hand, the AICC observer's team, headed by the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha, P.M. Sayeed, is holding consultations with not only senior leaders but also those seeking party ticket from various segments. The observers are very keenly assessing the plus and minus points of the candidates and also referring to the internal feedback about the image and popularity of the candidate. Meanwhile, the anxiety levels of the prospective candidates are increasing with each passing day. In fact, the entire day of these ticket seekers is spent chasing senior party leaders and trying to impress them about their claim. And the rumour mongers are having the whale of a time in this uncertain atmosphere. Reports of a certain committee constituted at the AICC level or that a certain leader is pleading the case of an individual's rival keep the prospective candidates on tenterhooks. "As soon as I heard that a new high-power committee had been constituted, I decided to buy flowers and a some sweets before meeting the members of that committee. But on reaching the residence of one of the AICC leaders, I was informed that there was no such committee and it was all a rumour," a party MLA remarked. The situation is no different and every news item, every word spoken is being taken on the face value in view of the secrecy being maintained by the parties in the run-up to the finalisation of the candidates. Interestingly, the prospective candidates, who used to flock the DPCC office at Talkotra Road, have done a disappearing act. With the Pradesh Election Committee (PEC) no longer in play, the scene has shifted to AICC or the venue where the Screening Committee is holding its meetings. Not only old relationships are being revived but also contacts, given up long ago, are being revived to reach out to the AICC leaders who matter. Be it the sitting MLAs, who are in the danger of facing the axe, or the prospective candidates, everyone is trying to find a way to reach to the senior most leader. And it hardly matters if it means taking the help of religious leaders, socialites, political rivals and even leaders of the other parties. Such is the situation that the political leaders and sitting MLAs have even gone to the extent of keeping the private secretaries of the senior AICC leaders in good humour so that they put in a "good word" to the "sahib" about the individual seeking party ticket. "This is the Congress party. There is no certainty about anything here. One has to keep lobbying till he gets the ticket as you never know who might be striking at your roots and in what shape," summed up a Congress MLA.
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