Rahul’s primaries to pick LS nominees not to cover sitting MPs
30 Jan 2014 6:02 AM IST
During his address at the meeting of the delegates of the AICC, Gandhi had promised a transparent method to select party candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Congress vice-president also proposed to start primaries on a pilot basis in 15 Lok Sabha seats.
The party, despite the brave talk by its vice-president, has developed cold feet on touching the constituencies of the sitting MPs. The move is surprising as the Congress is predicted to lose, according to opinion polls, more than 50 per cent of the 203 LS current seats. According to sources, so far 14 LS seats have been finalised for the primaries and of this only two were won by the Congress in 2009.
Of this, Jhunjhunu, won by Sis Ram Ola, had fallen vacant following the death of octogenarian leader late last year. The other seat is Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh, held by Meenakshi Natarajan, a close confidante of Rahul Gandhi. Insiders said that she is the only sitting MP believed to have not smirked at the proposal to put her renomination in the court of the party workers. The other 12 seats are all held by Opposition parties. These seats are – Gauhati (BJP), Bhavnagar (BJP), Vadodara (BJP), Bangalore North (BJP), Dakshina Kannada (BJP), Indore (BJP), Aurangabad (Shiv Sena), Yavatmal Washim (Shiv Sena), Bikaner (BJP), Sant Kabir Nagar (BSP), Varanasi (BJP) and Kolkata Uttar (TMC).
The list doesn’t have any seat from Delhi, where the party performed miserably in the last assembly polls. It’s being predicted that all its seven sitting MPs would lose in 2014 elections. Sources said that Chandni Chowk seat, represented by union minister Kapil Sibal, was initially included in the earlier list but was later withdrawn for the ‘reasons best known to the party leadership.’
On being asked what does these primaries actually mean, a party leader said, ‘A representative section of people, satisfying certain criteria, from these LS seats, will decide the Congress candidate from their constituency by participating in a simple voting process. Any eligible person satisfying certain clearly laid down requirements shall be accepted as a candidate for these primaries.’
The party, despite the brave talk by its vice-president, has developed cold feet on touching the constituencies of the sitting MPs. The move is surprising as the Congress is predicted to lose, according to opinion polls, more than 50 per cent of the 203 LS current seats. According to sources, so far 14 LS seats have been finalised for the primaries and of this only two were won by the Congress in 2009.
Of this, Jhunjhunu, won by Sis Ram Ola, had fallen vacant following the death of octogenarian leader late last year. The other seat is Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh, held by Meenakshi Natarajan, a close confidante of Rahul Gandhi. Insiders said that she is the only sitting MP believed to have not smirked at the proposal to put her renomination in the court of the party workers. The other 12 seats are all held by Opposition parties. These seats are – Gauhati (BJP), Bhavnagar (BJP), Vadodara (BJP), Bangalore North (BJP), Dakshina Kannada (BJP), Indore (BJP), Aurangabad (Shiv Sena), Yavatmal Washim (Shiv Sena), Bikaner (BJP), Sant Kabir Nagar (BSP), Varanasi (BJP) and Kolkata Uttar (TMC).
The list doesn’t have any seat from Delhi, where the party performed miserably in the last assembly polls. It’s being predicted that all its seven sitting MPs would lose in 2014 elections. Sources said that Chandni Chowk seat, represented by union minister Kapil Sibal, was initially included in the earlier list but was later withdrawn for the ‘reasons best known to the party leadership.’
On being asked what does these primaries actually mean, a party leader said, ‘A representative section of people, satisfying certain criteria, from these LS seats, will decide the Congress candidate from their constituency by participating in a simple voting process. Any eligible person satisfying certain clearly laid down requirements shall be accepted as a candidate for these primaries.’
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