The Aryavarth Express
Agency(New Delhi): The Congress party is set to finalize its list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections during the central election committee (CEC) meeting scheduled in New Delhi on March 7, 2024. This step indicates the party’s readiness to kickstart its electoral campaign, with the Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole recently chairing the party’s core committee meeting in Mumbai on March 5, 2024.
The CEC, chaired by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, includes notable members such as former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, along with AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal, Ambika Soni, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, and T.S. Singhdeo, among others. The committee’s task is to deliberate upon and finalize the candidates based on the recommendations from the state-level screening committees, which have already convened to propose their lists.
The Rajasthan screening committee, for example, has completed its meeting and forwarded the list of party candidates for the state’s 25 Lok Sabha seats. According to Sachin Pilot, who spoke after the Rajasthan committee’s meeting, the CEC is expected to announce a significant number of candidates following the March 7 meeting. He highlighted the positive environment surrounding the party and its efforts to strengthen the INDIA bloc, mentioning that alliances have already been finalized in some states, with plans to finalize more in the future.
The decision of whether individual party members, including Sachin Pilot, will contest in the elections is ultimately determined by the CEC. This upcoming CEC meeting and the subsequent announcement of candidates are crucial steps for the Congress party as it prepares for the Lok Sabha elections, aiming to consolidate its position and strategy across the nation.