Raj: Tickets only to winnable candidates: Sachin Pilot

Jaipur: Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot said the party will give tickets to winnable candidates in the state and if it comes to power it will focus on the issues of farmers and youths.

He feels his party, which suffered severe blows in 2013 assembly and 2014 Lok Sabha elections, is ready to snatch power from ruling BJP after the December 7 polls.

"The party has worked hard and now it is going to win the assembly elections and form the next government in Rajasthan. The BJP won last elections but their leaders distanced themselves from public. The Congress lost but we stood by people at all times," Pilot said here. He said the process for finalising tickets was going on and only winnable candidate will get the ticket.

Pilot, who took the reins of the party's state unit in January 2014 and steered it through a tough phase, said, "The party has revived its fortune and is going to win the elections."

"On the change of the government, the first priority of our government will be addressing issues of farmers who are facing economic crisis. There are many issues related to them and agriculture like loans, MSP, seeds, and the issues will be addressed with a holistic view," he said. Youths, according to him, will be the next priority.

"We will try to give employment to educated youths and will make arrangement for loans with lesser interest rates for those who will not be able to get a job," he said, adding, the party was also promising unemployment allowance upto Rs 3,500 for youths of needy families.

"All such things will be included in our election manifesto," he said.

The 41-year-old leader alleged the state the law and order situation in the state was poor, crime against Dalits and tribals was increasing and the people were suffering under the BJP rule.

Attacking Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, he said her party had got a huge mandate in the 2013 elections but she betrayed the people.

"Her government transferred education, health and other services to private hands through the PPP model. We will stop this.

"The government took a keen interest in distributing mining leases, privatising services but ignored public related matters. The BJP government's priorities are wrong and we will focus on core issues," he claimed. He alleged nearly 150 farmers committed suicide under her rule and termed it unfortunate.