Want Cong ticket? ‘Say I am a teetotaler, love Khadi’

Aspirants vying for a Congress ticket in Haryana for the Assembly elections, which is scheduled for October 21, will have to declare that they are teetotalers.

Potential candidates will also have to declare their fondness for traditional Khadi attire. These are some of the ‘pre-conditions’ laid down by the grand old party on the backside of the form that needs to be filled by ticket aspirants in Haryana.

State Congress president Kumari Selja has now extended the last date of applying for the party ticket to September 25. The party says the decision to extend the date has been done keeping in view the ‘enthusiasm’ among ticket aspirants.

Party insiders say many of the undertakings that ticket aspirants must adhere to are ‘absurd and meaningless’. “Teetotalers would be minuscule in the party. Even senior Congress leaders drink liquor. Such pre-conditions are least practical,” a source quipped.

Candidates will also have to declare that they only have a legitimate property and their earnings are as per known sources of their income. Another declaration needed to be made by ticket aspirants is that they will be regular buyers of the Congress journal.

With the ongoing drive to invite applications for tickets to the 90-member Haryana Assembly, the Congress in Jatland is aiming to muster up some quick money by way of a fee that comes along with the form.

In the case of general category, the candidate will have to shell out Rs 5,000. Scheduled Caste aspirants must pay Rs 2,000 to apply. Aspiring candidates in the declaration form also need to state that they believe in secular values and have never discriminated based on caste or religion.

The Congress, which won only 15 seats in the 2014 Assembly elections, so far doesn’t appear to put up a formidable challenge to the incumbent BJP. However, the party is hoping to revive its political fortunes in Jatland with two-term former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda given the command to lead the party in the elections.