Jaipur, Nov 06: With barely a day to go before the process of assembly elections begins, the two major political parties in the state - Congress and BJP - are yet to home in on their "winnable" candidates, even as hectic meetings are underway to finalise their respective lists. While the BJP released its first list of 93 candidates yesterday in Delhi, the delay in the Congress list is causing concern among party supporters, despite Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's assurances that there is complete unanimity over the name of the 110 candidates.
Congress party circles here are abuzz with reports that several senior leaders like Nawal Kishore Sharma, Natwar Singh and Chandan Mal Baid are seeking tickets for their sons in the coming polls.
BJP giving 11 tickets to women in its first list of 93 candidates has prompted Mahila Congress too to step up pressure for more tickets to its members.
The two-day Central Election Committee meeting would begin today in Delhi in which the list of party candidates would be finalised, Congress sources said here.
Senior leaders of both the Congress and BJP, including Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, PCC chief Girija Vyas, state BJP chief Vasundhara Raje and leader of opposition Gulab Chand Kataria, are in Delhi to assist their respective high commands in finalisation of tickets.
With the publication of poll notification, nominations for the December one assembly elections would begin tomorrow, electoral officer Lalit Kothari said adding nominations would be accepted from tomorrow between 11 am and 3 pm daily. November 14 is the last date for filing papers.
Bureau Report