Congress goes into election mode in Delhi; names poll panel

New Delhi

New Delhi

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The Congress has hit the campaign mode in Delhi by appointing a screening committee for the upcoming assembly elections in the city state.

Headed by former Youth Congress president and party’s Gujarat in-charge Rajeev Satav, the committee also includes Virender Singh Rathore and Challa Vamshi Chand Reddy as its members.

While Rathore is an All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary in-charge of Bihar, Reddy too is an AICC secretary and assists general secretary Mallikarjun Kharge in looking after the party affairs in Maharashtra.

A screening committee shortlists the candidates for an upcoming poll and the list is then sent to the central election committee (CEC), headed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, for final approval.

AICC Delhi in-charge PC Chacko, state unit chief Subhash Chopra and secretary Kuljit Nagra are ex-officio members of the party panel.

Having ruled Delhi for 15 consecutive years from 1998, the Congress was ousted from power by debutant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), led by Arvind Kejriwal, in 2013.

However, the two parties joined the hands after the elections threw a hung verdict but the alliance lasted just 49 days, leading to the dissolution of the assembly.

Delhi will again witness a triangular contest between the AAP, the BJP and the Congress. While the AAP is fighting the elections on its performance in last five years, the BJP faces the challenge of consolidating its position after its stupendous show in this year’s general elections in which it won all the seven Lok Sabha seats.

On the other hand, the task for the Congress is to ensure its relevance in Delhi politics.