The Congress Election Committee (CEC) met on Monday and cleared the names of party candidates for all Assembly seats in Delhi barring “seven crucial constituencies”, including New Delhi, Shalimar Bagh and Seemapuri. Congress president Sonia Gandhi was also present in the meeting.
Sources said the party is likely to announce the candidates for 39 Assembly segments on Tuesday.
The Congress has already announced its first list of 24 candidates last month for the 70-member Delhi Assembly.
It was at the same meeting that AICC general secretary and former Union Minister Ajay Maken was declared in-charge of the party's Campaign Committee, sources said. However, the party chose neither to confirm nor deny this to reporters during an interaction at its national headquarters.
The party's candidate from New Delhi, the home turf of former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, is likely to be announced last. The remaining constituencies where the party is yet to take a call on candidates, a source indicated, are likely to be Timarpur, Rajinder Nagar, Karol Bagh and Tilak Nagar.
A group of leaders from the party's Delhi unit, on Sunday, requested Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Arvinder Singh “to ask its central leadership to play a more proactive role in the party's campaign” for the polls.
“In addition to asking Mr. Singh to appeal to Ms. Gandhi on our behalf, a contingent of Delhi leaders who attended the CEC meeting also spoke to her,” a party source told The Hindu .
“We requested her to campaign for us at several crucial seats and also to ensure that Mr. Rahul Gandhi (party vice-president) participates in a few public rallies and meetings so that our party cadres' enthusiasm increases,” the source added.
When asked, a senior party leader said both Ms. Gandhi and Mr. Gandhi were scheduled to participate in public rallies over the coming days.
