Congress gets down to business to select candidates

​Hyderabad: With the completion of appointment of the poll related committees, the Congress party has shifted its focus towards the selection of candidates for the next elections. According to party leaders it has received around 1,000 applications from the aspirants from all the 119 constituencies of the state. On an average as many as 9 to 10 applications for each constituency have reached the PCC till Friday, the last date for receiving applications. 

PCC President N Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the candidates would be selected based on the results of two surveys on their standing, popularity and winnability in their respective constituencies. He said the list of candidates would be thoroughly scrutinised by the PCC Election Committee and the same would be forwarded to screening
committee. The TPCC Chief said that the list of candidates would be announced 15 days before the release of election notification. 

The Congress has received the proposals from the Telugu Desam, Telangana Jana Samithi and Communist Party of India on the constituencies they want to contest as part of alliance.  According to sources the TD, TJS and CPI have asked the Congress to take a decision on the number of seats to be left to them. The Congress has ordered a flash survey in the constituencies to assess the strength of the alliance partners. 

The Congress is expecting that the Election Commission of India may issue schedule for elections in the state any time after October 8. It wants to complete the primary exercise of selection of aspirants by end of September and send the list to the high command. Sources in the party said that the Pradesh Election Committee being headed by PCC president Uttam Kumar Reddy would meet soon and shortlist the aspirants for forwarding it to the AICC screening committee. The sources said that the PEC would select about three to four names for each constituency. 

According to party leaders the PCC may send the names of the candidates of the constituencies which it does not want to give to the alliance partners. The MLAs who won behalf of the party in the previous elections would be recommended for re-nomination. The Congress MLAs who remained with the party till the dissolution would be re-nominated and one or two may be denied the tickets if their constituencies are given to alliance partners in an exigency.  

In the first phase it would send the names of the aspirants of about 80 constituencies to the high command for screening.  The rest of the constituencies would be examined after the finalisation of seats of the alliance partners.