New Delhi: After Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal's snub over the alliance issue, the Congress has fast-tracked its candidate selection process in Delhi.
Former party chief Rahul Gandhi and incumbent Mallikarjun Kharge will chair a meeting of the Central Election Committee (CEC) on December 12 to clear over two dozen of 70 names for the coming Assembly elections in Delhi, said party insiders.
"The focus will be on loyalty, commitment to party ideology and winnability. Once the CEC clears the names, they will be announced soon. We have been interacting with a lot of ticket seekers during open house sessions over the past weeks. We have been able to identify a lot of potential faces through this transparent process. That exercise is going on," All India Congress Committee (AICC) functionary Pradeep Narwal, who is involved in the screening process, told ETV Bharat.
The Congress managers are also mulling an early declaration of names to convey a message that the grand old party is ready for the coming contest.
"I had suggested to the senior leaders to announce the names early, but the final decision will be taken by the high command," former MP Sandeep Dikshit told ETV Bharat.
The Congress managers said no alliance with AAP will not have any impact on the Congress and said that the coming Delhi elections will throw up a surprise.
"There will be a big surprise for the AAP. No alliance will have no effect on us. There is an undercurrent in favour of the Congress among the voters and we sensed it during the month-long Nyay Yatra," said Narwal.
Before the Nyay Yatra to flag social welfare and civic issues, the Congress had conducted a drive to activate old-timers across the city to boost organisational strength.
According to a Delhi veteran, the Congress, which has no lawmakers in the Assembly, looks good this time.
"There will be a three-cornered contest in Delhi in which the Congress will emerge as a strong party. We will benefit from the anti-incumbency of the ruling AAP. In my view, they will take a beating this time, but I would not like to guess the result," former MP JP Aggarwal told ETV Bharat.
The Congress managers are upbeat over the recent joining of AAP’s sitting Seelampur MLA Abdul Rehman after former minister Rajendra Pal Gautam joined the grand old party in September indicating unease in the ruling party. Another senior leader and former minister Kailash Gehlot joined the BJP in November giving further jolt to the AAP.
The AAP has already announced 31 candidates and replaced many MLAs to beat the anti-incumbency.
Congress insiders said former chief Rahul Gandhi visiting a grocery store in the Bhogal area to understand the problems of small shopkeepers and his earlier such visits to mechanics, porters and rail track workers will bring back the working class towards the grand old party.
"Today, the residents recall the days of the previous Congress government when a lot of development work took place. The good thing is they still connect with the party emotionally," said Narwal.
