Cong MPs play safe, lobby for R'than Assembly ticket

Not sure of winning LS polls, MPs want to be MLAs

With the stock of the Congress down at the Centre, many party MPs are lobbying to shift to the state by contesting the upcoming Assembly elections. However, sources say the party is yet to take call on the issue of fielding sitting MPs to contest them.

But these MPs are leaving no stone unturned to impress the party high command citing winnability factor. According to sources, the party top leadership is also in a fix and divided over the matter.

One section is of the view that those leaders (MPs) who are more interested in local politics should be given a chance in the assembly elections and party should look for new faces for the Parliament elections. But for the party high command, it is not a matter just related to Rajasthan.

Over two to three dozen MPs from the five states where assembly polls are due in November have expressed their desire to contest them.

Strength

The Congress leadership is worried that if their request is entertained the strength of the party MPs in the Parliament will go down drastically at a time when several important legislations are pending in the Parliament and have to be cleared in the upcoming sessions.

Sources said the party may permit only a few in rare cases as the party leadership is not in favour of MPs jumping into the assembly polls fray though the legislators are waiting for the green signal to start preparations.

According to sources, Jaipur MP Mahesh Joshi is eying the assembly seat either from Sanganeer or Kishanpole constituency, while Jaipur (rural) MP and Union Minister of State for Rural Development Lal Chand Kataria is trying to get a party ticket from Jhotwara assembly segment. 

It is also being said former union minister and party general secretary C P Joshi is interested to contest from his home constituency Nathdwara. He was defeated there in the last assembly polls by a single vote.

He later contested from the Bhilwara Lok Sabha seat and won by an overwhelming majority and was a union minister till recently.

The other MPs having similar interests are Bharat Ram from Ganganagar, Madhav Singh Khandela from Khandela, and Tarachand Bhagora from Dungarpur.
One of them said “it is up to the party to take a decision and I will abide by it.”