New Delhi: The Congress is actively engaging in the challenging task of selecting candidates as Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra approaches within the next 10 days. Tonight, the party’s election committee will convene in Delhi to address this matter. The committee is tasked with finalizing 60 candidates across 10 states, including Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura, Sikkim, and Lakshadweep.
However, the party is yet to resolve seat-sharing concerns in two significant states: Maharashtra and Bengal, which collectively hold 90 seats. Discussions with Maha Vikas Aghadi allies for the 48 seats in Maharashtra are ongoing. In Bengal, efforts are being made to address Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s concerns, as she has temporarily suspended her INDIA membership due to dissatisfaction with the seat-sharing process.
Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is presently in Delhi and is expected to participate in the meeting. Sources suggest that decisions regarding nine of the state’s 17 Lok Sabha seats may be made during the meeting. While the Congress is optimistic about securing seats in south Telangana, challenges are anticipated in north Telangana. Reddy remains confident that the party can secure 14 out of the 17 seats, attributing potential difficulties to alleged collusion between the BJP and former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s Bharat Rashtra Samithi.
Emphasizing that the party’s performance will reflect a verdict on his three-month governance, Reddy expressed support for Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra contesting from Telangana, as proposed by the state unit. However, Rahul Gandhi is expected to maintain his current seat in Kerala’s Wayanad and strive to regain Amethi. His Bharat Jodo Yatra is scheduled to conclude in Mumbai on March 20.
Despite being engaged in the ongoing yatra in Rajasthan, both Rahul Gandhi and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge have flown to Delhi to attend today’s meeting. Former party chief Sonia Gandhi is also present at the meeting.
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