Congress could announce candidates for Rajasthan's 70 seats soon: Report
The Congress is likely to declare candidates for Rajasthan's 70 seats way ahead of the elections scheduled for later this year, India Today reported, quoting a senior party official. The grand old party has suffered defeat on all these seats in the last two state Assembly elections and is willing to experiment on these seats, the Congress leader said, requesting anonymity.
Why does this story matter?
Invigorated by its electoral win in Karnataka last month, the Congress is amping up efforts to retain Rajasthan while also attempting to contain infighting from spilling over. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is in opposition in the state, is banking on anti-incumbency to clinch Rajasthan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited Rajasthan four times this year, including twice after the Karnataka defeat.
'Congress has nothing to lose on these seats'
"The Congress may declare candidates on these seats, assuming it has nothing to lose. It's in the mood to experiment on these seats. The party wants to declare candidates on these seats in advance, so it can get a chance to prepare in the field," the leader said. Notably, the Congress won 99 out of 200 seats in 2018, while the BJP won 73.
Here are some of the seats among 70 constituencies
These seats include Ajmer North, Ajmer South, Alwar Urban, Amer, Anupgarh, Bikaner East, Bundi, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Churu, Chomu, Kota South, Revdar, Asind, Jalore, Sumerpur, Pali, Mavli, Pilibanga, Pushkar, Raisingh Nagar, Mundawar, Nagaur, Suratgarh, Nasirabad, Makrana, Jhalrapatan, Sangaria, Sanganer, Shahpura, Sojat, and Udaipur Rural, among others.
Experts divided over move
The Congress leader said that the party reached the conclusion based on three to four internal surveys. However, some political experts and senior journalists believe the move could hurt the Congress as the leaders, disgruntled over not getting a ticket, may damage the prospects of the fielded candidates. Some experts opined it would give the Congress enough time to campaign and chalk out strategies.
There are 200-250 booths in Assembly constituency
They said that since the Congress's organizational capacity is poorer than that of the BJP, declaring candidates late gives the party little time to formulate a booth-wise plan to win. On average, there are 200-250 booths in an Assembly constituency. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot recently said candidates should be declared two months in advance to get enough time for campaigning.
