Jitendra Singh
Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, March 3: The election committee of the State Congress party today held a meeting here as part of the process to finalise its list of candidates for the forthcoming Assam Assembly polls.
The meeting was held under the chairmanship of All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge of Assam Jitendra Singh. Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Ripun Bora and other senior leaders of the party took part in the meeting.
The committee analysed the applications submitted by ticket seekers from various constituencies.
“Our effort will be to give tickets to those leaders who have been working on the ground and have acceptability among the masses. We will carry out the entire exercise in a transparent manner. There will be no parachute dropping of candidates,” Singh told reporters before the election committee meeting.
Post the meeting, he said that the party has decided to consult its leaders at the local level before finalising the list of candidates for the Assembly polls.
“We have decided to discuss and exchange views with our district and block presidents. So tomorrow the screening committee of our party will meet our party workers and block and district presidents. We will discuss with all of them and then decide. We will involve our grass-root workers,” Singh said.
State Congress vice president Rakibul Hussain said that the meetings took place in a positive atmosphere.
“Today we held preliminary discussions. There will be more meetings. The discussion took place regarding all the seats. The panel of candidates will be then sent to the screening committee, before the final list is announced. The entire process will take one or two days,” Hussain said.
Deputy Leader of the Congress party in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi said that party members who have “worked hard and won popularity among the masses” are likely to be given tickets.
