Congress poll panel decides 80 candidates for MP

The Congress' central election committee on Wednesday is reported to have evolved a consensus on 80 out of 230 candidates to be fielded in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly election due on November 28.

Of the 80 candidates, 50 are sitting MLAs.

However, the list is unlikely to be released any time soon, according to party sources.

According to reports reaching Bhopal, the committee held its meeting at former party president Sonia Gandhi’s 10 Janpath residence.

Apart from Sonia Gandhi, state Congress chief Kamal Nath, Jyotiraditya Scindia and party's Madhya Pradesh general secretary in-charge Deepak Bavaria were present at the meeting.

Later, Bavaria confirmed that after deliberation consensus emerged in the central poll panel on 80 candidates.

He, however, declined to comment on when the list of candidates will be released.

The committee also discussed future role for senior party leader Digvijay Singh, who is reported to be sulking due to being neglect in the party's campaign.

The sources said that the Congress is worried over its poll prospects following Digvijay Singh’s informal chat with party workers, in Bhopal, in which he said that he was deliberately staying away from campaigning lest it will reduce the Congress’s votes.

The talk was captured in a video on October 13 but went viral on Tuesday.

The meeting decided to leave it to Congress president Rahul Gandhi as to what new role he chooses to assign Digvijay Singh, who is the chairman of the state Congress coordination committee.