Rajasthan polls: Congress struggling to deal with squabbling over tickets

The Congress is battling a problem of plenty with too many claimants vying for party tickets in the upcoming assembly election in Rajasthan, its leaders said.

Though the faction-ridden unit in Rajasthan has managed to put up a united face by bringing two heavyweights former chief minister Ashok Gehlot and state Congress chief Sachin Pilot together, it is still trying to deal with the squabbling over tickets.

Elections to the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly will be held on December 7.

Party chief Rahul Gandhi asserted at a rally in Jaipur on August 11 that no outsider will get a ticket for the assembly election.

"I can guarantee you this time that not a single parachute candidate will be able to get the ticket. If any such candidate comes, I will cut the rope," Gandhi told party workers.

The party's state election committee has put the ball in Gandhi's court for a final decision on distribution of tickets.

Congress leaders claimed a decision at the local level on the candidates can backfire at a time when the party has managed to create some political buzz in the desert state, which usually votes the BJP and the Congress alternately to power.

Leaving the decision on ticket distribution to the Congress "high command" is a safe bet, they said. And added that letting the party's national general secretary Gehlot or state unit chief Pilot, another Gandhi aide, could result in factionalism.

Gehlot, in his 'Sankalp Rally' speeches, had urged Congress workers and leaders to support the candidates who are picked.

He said only one person can get a Congress ticket from a seat and all party men should help that candidate win.

Kumari Selja, who was appointed chairperson of the party's screening committee for the election in Rajasthan in June, has said only "winnable" candidates will get the tickets.

She said a final decision has to be taken at the level of the Congress president but the feedback collected from state will be considered.