Congress appoints poll panel members for Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh

Sounding the poll bugle, Congress on Tuesday appointed senior Kerala leader Ramesh Chennithala as the head of screening committee for Gujarat and Deepa Dasmunsi to lead the panel in Himachal Pradesh.

The Gujarat screening committee will have Maharashtra MLA Shivajirao Moghe and former Delhi MLA Jai Kishan as its members. Gujarat in-charge Raghu Sharma, state president Jagdish Thakor, Legislature Party leader Sukhram Rathva and AICC secretaries in charge of the state will be ex-officio members.

In Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh MLA Umang Singhar and Rajasthan MLA Dhiraj Gurjar will be screening committee members.

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Himachal in charge Rajeev Shukla, state president Pratibha Singh, Legislature Party leader Mukesh Agnihotri, Campaign Committee Chairman Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and AICC secretaries in charge of the state will be ex-officio members.

The setting up of the screening committee for Himachal came, days after senior leader Anand Sharma resigned as chairperson of steering committee set up by Congress president Sonia Gandhi in April, as he was “left with no choice” due to the “continuing exclusion and insults".

In Himachal, the party hopes to replace the ruling BJP while in Gujarat, it is hoping for a better result. In both the states, the party is facing factionalism. Adding to its woes, AAP has also entered the scene in both states.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur had dismissed AAP as politically irrelevant in the state and said the BJP’s fight is against Congress.

Gujarat is witnessing a high decibel level of political rhetoric after the raids at Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s residence in the Delhi excise policy case. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Sisodia toured Gujarat for two days claiming that the BJP will be defeated in the next elections.