Cong primaries for LS polls on March 9, 13

Internal polls to be conducted in Mangalore and Bangalore North

The Congress has begun the process to conduct primaries (internal polling) for selecting the party candidates for Mangalore and Bangalore North parliamentary constituencies. Election for Mangalore will be held on March 9 and for Bangalore North on March 13.

As per the calendar of events released by the All India Congress Committee, February 28 is the last date for filing nominations and March 9 is the date of election for Mangalore seat. 

For Bangalore North, March 7 is the last date for filing nomination papers and March 13 is the date of election. 

Contenders for ticket

Returning officers (ROs) deputed by the party to conduct the internal polls have already reached Mangalore, where senior leader Janardhana Poojary and Union Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily’s son Harsha Moily are among the key contenders for the party ticket to contest the polls. 

ROs are likely to arrive in Bangalore on February 26. At least six leaders are likely to file the nominations for Bangalore North seat — C Narayanaswamy, B L Shankar, Rajiv Gowda, K C Ramamurthy, G C Chandrashekar and Ramesh G Gowda. 

The Congress has for the first time taken up the exercise to conduct primaries in altogether 16 Lok Sabha constituencies across the country. Said to be the brainchild of party vice president Rahul Gandhi, the exercise is aimed at democratising the process of candidate selection for the polls, the party sources said.

Internal polling is being conducted with the assistance of the Foundation for Advanced Management of Elections (FAME), a non-government organisation set up by the former chief election commissioner J M Lyngdoh. 

The Foundation recently conducted workshops for the party functionaries on conducting the polls. 

CampaignLeaders who are aspiring to contest in the internal elections have already started their campaign seeking the support of party workers and leaders who are eligible to vote.