Congress ticket hopefuls are worried about the delayed candidate selection process

Those running for tickets are becoming anxious due to the Congress’s tardiness in announcing its candidates for the six Assembly byelections as well as the parliamentary seats in Kangra and Hamirpur.

The Tribune was informed by a ticket contender for the Kangra parliamentary seat that the Congress had a difficult challenge in selecting the candidates. “The Kangra parliamentary seat has 17 Assembly segments that include the districts of Kangra and Chamba. Visiting every Assembly constituency by a candidate will need a minimum of two days. After announcing its candidates this month, the BJP has already begun touring Assembly districts and hosting rallies. It would be more difficult for them to visit all places if there is further delay in selecting the candidates, he said.

According to sources, the Congress took longer than expected to choose candidates because certain candidates were reluctant to run, and the party leadership was ready to issue tickets to BJP dissidents in order to increase the likelihood of winning.

They alleged that Nagrota Bagwan MLA RS Bali was approached by the Congress high command to run in the Kangra Lok Sabha poll, but he declined, citing his recent election as an MLA and his desire to continue serving his area.

“The Congress is also considering former minister Asha Kumari’s candidature for the Kangra parliamentary seat,” the sources said. Because she is from Chamba district, which has a far lower number of votes in the constituency than Kangra district, several Congress officials are against her candidacy.

“The party is also weighing caste equations,” they continued. Vikramaditya Singh, a Rajput leader from the Mandi parliamentary seat, has already been fielded by it. Former MLA Satpal Raizada has been proclaimed by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu as the candidate from the Hamirpur parliamentary seat; however, his candidacy has not yet received approval from the party high leadership. The party is hesitant to nominate Rajput candidates for the state’s three Lok Sabha seats since Asha Kumari is also a Rajput leader.

According to the sources, Congress leaders in the Dharamsala Assembly seat had communication with OBC politician Rakesh Chaudhary, who had resigned from the BJP after the party’s endorsement of Sudhir Sharma for the byelection. In the Dharamsala byelection, Rakesh Chaudhary has said he would run as an independent if he is not chosen for a Congress ticket. The Congress is thinking about supporting Chaudhary, but if it provides him a ticket, they fear a rebellion among their own ranks,” they said.

Numerous Dharamsala-based Gaddi leaders have also declared their intention to run for the Congress ticket in the byelection. According to the reports, the Chief Minister was endorsing the candidacy of former Mayor Davinder Jaggi.

Congress officials from the seat expressed concern that the party’s prospects may be harmed by the tardiness in naming the candidate to challenge Sudhir Sharma in the Dharamsala byelection.