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Congress gearing up early for Haryana Assembly polls

NEW DELHI: Though Haryana Assembly elections are due only early next year, the Congress has begun preparations simultaneously with Maharashtra, where polls are scheduled for this October. The first step towards poll preparedness has been taken by setting up high-level committees to iron out the rough spots in both States.

While a five-member committee has been set up for Maharashtra, where the the party is facing demands from within to break its alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party, the Haryana committee has only three members.

Defence Minister and party in-charge of Maharashtra, A. K. Antony, will chair the Maharashtra committee. General secretary Digvijay Singh, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman K. Rahman Khan, AICC secretaries Pravin Rashtrapal and Mohan Prakash are the other members of the committee.

In the case of Haryana also, the committee will be headed by the existing in-charge of the State, Union Minister of State Prithviraj Chavan. Other members on this committee are AICC general secretary B. K. Hariprasad and working president of the Punjab Congress Committee Mohinder Singh Kaypee.

Curiously enough, both Mr. Antony and Mr. Chavan have been given this additional task at a time when there is talk of an AICC reshuffle to reallocate work in view of the inclusion of several office-bearers in the Union Council of Ministers.

As to whether the preparations for the Haryana elections from now itself signalled an intent in the Congress to go for an early poll in the State, no Congress office-bearer was willing to speak on record. Citing the provision that allows the Election Commission to call for a poll anytime within the last six months of the term of the existing Assembly, the Congress’ contention is that it does not want to be caught ill-prepared as was the case in Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh when elections were notified earlier than anticipated.

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Congress gearing up early for Haryana Assembly polls

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