Congress delays candidate selection for Lok Sabha polls

Congress’ alliance partner, AAP, has already announced its candidate list in Delhi, while Congress is still holding discussions for candidate selection and apparently struggling for a consensus on the final list.

According to party insiders, the Congress is likely to field Arvinder Lovely from North-East Delhi, but Lovely, in an exclusive interview with The Sunday Guardian, expressed his unwillingness to contest elections. Also, Sandeep Dikshit, son of former chief minister Sheila Dikshit, is reportedly under consideration as a potential candidate for the North East Delhi seat, a position he contested in the 2019 elections.

Within party circles, there are discussions about considering Alka Lamba and Jai Prakash Aggarwal for the Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha constituency. Additionally, former MP Udit Raj and former Delhi minister Raj Kumar Chauhan are being evaluated as potential candidates for the North West Delhi seats.

Also, exparty president Anil Choudhary is a probable candidate. While speculations about fielding Kanhaiya Kumar for this seat are also probable, given the adequate population of Purvanchali people, the Congress has entered into a seat-sharing deal with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi, where it will contest from three seats, namely Chandni Chowk, North East Delhi, and North West Delhi. AAP will contest from the remaining four seats.

However, in a bid to revive their votebank, the Delhi Congress is organising various meetings with the stakeholders, which include street vendors, farmers, auto drivers, traders, and youths. The manifesto committee under former Delhi Congress Chief Anil Choudhary is holding talks at booth level with the public about the same.

Arvinder Singh Lovely, Delhi Congress Chief, stated in a statement that “the Congress manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections will address issues faced by all sections of society. Emphasising Rahul Gandhi’s extensive interactions during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Lovely stated that the manifesto’s 50 issues would focus on youth, women, bhagidari, workers, and farmers. He added that INDIA partners will have individual manifestos, but a common minimum programme will be decided by all parties.