Tainted leaders will not get party tickets: Sonia

Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday made it clear that the party will not field any tainted leaders as its candidates in the May 5 elections to the State Assembly and, told the state leaders not to be laid-back or over-confident that the party would wrest power.

 While reviewing the party’s poll preparedness, she advised the leaders to put up an united fight and work hard to bring the party back to power. This was the Congress chief’s first meeting with the state leaders after the elections were announced.

“Though the party is confident of coming back to power, the leaders should not be complacent,” she reportedly said. She is also learnt to have enquired about the candidates' list and said that the screening committee headed by former Goa Chief Minister Luizinho Faleiro will take final decision.  

On the induction of leaders from other parties, she reportedly said that the co-ordination committee headed by Defence Minister A K Antony and the screening committee would decide on it. Reminding the leaders that several ministers in the BJP government were embroiled in corruption charges, Gandhi is learnt to have advised the state leaders not to encourage or recommend those facing corruption charges to join the Congress.

The hour-long meeting was attended by Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel, General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka Madhusudan Mistry, KPCC president G Parameshwara and Legislature party leader Siddaramaiah.  

Co-ordination

Later, Antony chaired the co-ordination committee meeting which was attended by its members, former union minister Ambika Soni, Overseas Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi and Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Jitendra Singh and Faleiro.

The meeting discussed campaign and co-ordination between state, district and block-level committees, sources said. Parameshwara and Siddaramaiah too attended the meeting.

Faleiro and Jitendra Singh are likely to visit Bangalore on Saturday and have a meeting with Congress leaders. The Faleiro-headed screening committee will meet in Delhi from March 26 to 29 to finalise the candidates. Subsequently, the first list of candidates will be released by March-end or early April, sources added.

A list containing around 125 names is already with the party and it has the names of sitting MLAs and prominent leaders including former ministers who had lost the previous elections.

In a related development, former Chief Minister S M Krishna met the Congress supremo and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi separately. While what transpired between them is not known, it is said that they discussed the party’s prospects in Karnataka. This was Krishna’s third meeting with the party high command after he quit as External Affairs minister a few months ago.