01 October,2024 11:00 AM IST | Mumbai | Dharmendra Jore
Nana Patole
Congress has received applications from 1,688 aspirants who are upbeat about contesting the forthcoming Assembly elections as the party's official candidates. The party began an eight-day interview schedule on Tuesday before it is expected to finalise the list of candidates for the constituencies it will share with the MVA partners after Dussehra.
The interviews are being carried out in a decentralised manner, with senior leaders visiting their assigned districts to evaluate the candidates. While the selection of certain individuals - such as senior leaders with electoral influence, sitting MLAs, and those with strong ties to the party leadership - is virtually guaranteed, other ticket hopefuls will still have the chance to make their case and improve their prospects.
MVA's seat-sharing talks are expected to conclude during the Navratri festival which will be celebrated between October 3 and 12. The schedule of the November elections is also likely to be announced in the later stages of the festival. According to the Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, who visited Mumbai last week, the elections will be held before November 26, the day the current house gets dissolved.
Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee had invited applications from the rank and file. It is learnt that even the senior leaders had also submitted their requests. The exercise also helped the party raise some funds through donations/application fees received from the applicants.
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"There has been an overwhelming response, with a total of 1,688 aspirants seeking a nomination from the Congress party which has entrusted senior leaders with the responsibility of conducting the interviews of all aspiring candidates. The panels will submit their confidential reports to the state headquarters by October 10," said Nana Gavande, MPCC vice-president (organisation and administration).
