Rajasthan Congress Holds Meeting On Names Of Candidates For Assembly Polls

Congress' Rajasthan state election committee held discussions on names of candidates for the upcoming assembly elections, amid demonstrations by party workers against some sitting MLAs.

They demanded that the party not give tickets to certain MLAs for the November 25 elections.

The committee headed by state Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra will present the names of candidates at a meeting of the party's screening committee in Delhi.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and other members of the committee attended the meeting at the party's war room on Friday evening.

When the meeting was going on, several groups of Congress workers from different constituencies held protests against some sitting party MLAs and demanded that they not be given tickets to contest the elections. Following the meeting, Mr Dotasra said that everyone has the right to express their views.

"Congress workers have been expressing their views for a long time. If anyone expresses his views, we will listen to him, and whatever is appropriate, it will be conveyed to the screening committee," he told reporters.

Mr Gehlot said that it was not uncommon to have adverse comments against an MP or an MLA at the time of elections.

"Such comments may be true or false. There could also be a conspiracy. So, this goes on. Ultimately, the party high command will take appropriate decisions and the winnable candidate will be given ticket, and that will be accepted by all of us," he said.

Mr Gehlot said that things are going smoothly in the party. The party will be launching an election campaign in eastern Rajasthan from Baran where party president Mallikarjun Kharge will address a meeting on October 16, he said.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will hold a rally in Sikrai, Dausa on October 20, he said.

CM Gehlot said that small and big rallies will be held in 13 eastern Rajasthan districts covered under the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) He said that his government kept on demanding from the central government to give national project status to the ERCP but the Centre did not do so.

Now, the Congress will be exposing the BJP-led central government on this issue through meetings in eastern Rajasthan districts, the chief minister said.

Soon before the meeting began, party workers from Kaman, Sawai Madhopur, Kishanpole and Sardarshahar constituencies reached near the war room and staged protests.

They raised slogans against some sitting MLAs and demanded that they should not be given tickets.

Zahida Khan is the Congress MLA from Kaman constituency while Danish Abrar is from Sawai Madhopur, Amin Kagzi from Kishanpole (Jaipur) and Anil Sharma from Sardarshahar (Churu).

"Danish Abror is going to face defeat if the Congress gives him a ticket. He neglected party workers for five years, we had to wait for hours to meet him. Meeting him was a tough task and therefore, he should not be given ticket," Ali Mohammad, a party worker from his constituency said.

Another person from Kaman constituency said that there was huge resentment against Zahida and people want the party to give ticket to a winnable candidate.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)