CWC(I) meets to select candidates

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JAN. 19. The Congress(I) Working Committee, (CWC-I) now converted as party's central election committee (CEC), today began its deliberations to finalise candidates for next month's assembly elections in Bihar, Orissa, Haryana and Manipur.

At its first meeting this evening, broad guidelines for ticket distribution and candidate selection would be discussed, according to the AICC spokesman, Mr. Ajit Jogi. No list of candidates would be released today, he said, though it is understood that the first lists for Bihar and Manipur, sent by the respective pradesh election committees, were to be taken up.

The CEC will be sitting regularly over the next few days to finalise party nominees.

The party president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, has taken steps to decentralise the candidate selection process, as suggested by the Antony Committee.

One more CWC(I) member has been appointed for each State to act as observers during the selection process: Mr. Motilal Vora for Bihar, Mr. Madhavrao Scindia for Haryana and Mrs. Prabha Rao for Orissa.

The party's screeening committee in Delhi has been done away with and instead, pradesh election committees are expected to recommend a single name for each constituency in a majority of seats.

The CWC(I) member, the AICC(I) general secretary and secretary and two more central observers would be among those present at the PEC meeting.

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Section  : National
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