The Hindu : New Delhi News : Congress working hard to find ‘winning’ candidates for Delhi Assembly elections

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Congress working hard to find ‘winning’ candidates for Delhi Assembly elections

Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

Party searching for constituencies for some MLAs and new candidates for old seats

Delimitation of constituencies has given the Congress an opportunity to shuffle its cards
‘There are pulls and pressures from various leaders that have to be addressed’

NEW DELHI: Having suffered defeats at the hands of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and Delhi Cantonment elections in the recent past, the Congress is now working hard towards finding 70 most suitable candidates with a “clean image” and high chances of “winning” for the Delhi Assembly elections.

“The task at hand is not easy. We have to contend with a number of issues like what to do with those sitting MLAs who have either lost their constituencies due to delimitation or do not appear likely to retain their seats. Then there are pulls and pressures from various leaders that have to be addressed. However, defeats in the last two elections have made the leadership veer towards the view that more than accommodating the demands of senior leaders the main determining factor should be a candidate’s ability to win,” said a senior party leader.

With 19 old constituencies completely losing their identity due to delimitation and as many new one being formed, this has also given the Congress an opportunity to shuffle its cards. “Weak candidates can now have an honourable exit. But going by the enthusiasm for tickets, it does not appear that anyone would be willing to let go easily.” And just the way, Congress is looking for new candidates from some constituencies it is also trying to find suitable constituencies for its MLAs who have lost out on their old ones. While in the case of some MLAs like Mahabal Mishra of Nasirpur who enjoys wide support from Poorvanchalis and is now expected to get Dwarka, and Jile Singh Chauhan of Jahangirpuri who is keen on Timarpur that has got several parts of his old constituency, the going is expected to be smooth, the case is not the same with many others.

Even senior party MLA Tajdar Babar of Minto Road is having to work hard for a ticket from Jangpura, from where sitting MLA Tarvinder Singh Marwah is another serious contender. Some in the party believe that Ms Babar is expected to get the nod ahead of Mr Marwah due to her seniority.

Likewise, Congress Chief Whip Ramakant Goswami who had won from Patel Nagar last time is ahead of other aspirants in the race to get a ticket from Rajinder Nagar as his old constituency has become reserved. A confidante of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, this time he has competition from area leader Brahm Yadav, Manish Chatrath who has the backing of a senior national Congress leader, and Raj Kumar Kohli, who has also contested from the area earlier.

Another serious tussle for ticket is between Health Minister Yoganand Shastri and MLA Kiran Walia for Malviya Nagar. A section of the party is of the opinion that while Ms Walia stands a better chance in Malviya Nagar, Mr Shastri is a good candidate from Mehrauli as he is a Jat leader of repute. Incidentally, in such a scenario he would have to contend with opposition from Satbir, a Mehrauli leader, who has not only got a number of hoardings put up in the constituency, but had also taken a big delegation to All India Congress Committee observers recently to put up his case for a party ticket.

While Geeta Colony MLA and Finance Minister A.K. Walia too has lost out on his constitutency, he has already started working in Laxmi Nagar constituency to again get a seat in the Delhi Assembly. On the other hand, Sarojini Nagar MLA Ashok Ahuja has a difficult task at hand as his constituency has got divided between New Delhi and Delhi Cantonment constituencies. With Ms Dikshit expected to contest from New Delhi and Congress losing the Delhi Cantonment elections when he was in-charge his chances of getting a ticket hang in balance. For certain other candidates too, like Babarpur MLA Vinay Sharma, the going is expected to be really tough. A resident of Shalimar Bagh, Mr Sharma has gone out of favour in Babarpur, where Congress had lost all wards in the MCD elections. While he is learnt to be trying for a ticket from Shalimar Bagh , it appears that for him the going may not be easy.

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