Aam aadmi twist to Cong's poll plans

Party to solicit public opinion through phone-ins before deciding on candidates

In a move that could be dubbed as a leaf straight out of the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP's) book - but with a slight twist - the Congress, for the first time in its 129-year history, has decided to sound out the public before deciding on its candidates for the coming Lok Sabha elections.

Voters in each of the 543 constituencies will be asked to call a particular phone number, to be extensively advertised in newspapers, and choose from among three or four shortlisted candidates for a Congress ticket. The new system also means there will be no guarantee a sitting legislator will be renominated by the party only because he had won a seat in the previous election.

The move, proposed by Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi at the first meeting of the party's newly-constituted screening committee last week, aims to ensure the candidates being fielded are the ones who have a connection with voters.

Unlike AAP, which conducted its selection process online, the Congress' "open" system will involve people using telephones and mobile phones and go on for seven days. The selection process will ensure the same person or user of the same mobile number does not make more than one call to canvass for a candidate.

Last Friday, Gandhi had promised decisions on candidate selection would be through a "new process" and added "we will bring the voice of the people".

"Our screening process is on and we are taking decisions about tickets. We have been talking about this within the party and we are doing that under a new process." Gandhi told the media. "We are doing it in a formal and, for the first time, in a time-bound way."

Names of the shortlisted candidates will emerge after the exercise has been carried out by the party's screening committees in different states. This time, strict deadlines have been stipulated - the Pradesh Congress Committees will have to complete the exercise by January 21 and hold discussions with senior party leaders over the next week (till

January 27). Between January 27 and 31, the screening committee will finalise its list, which will be put up before the Central Election Committee (CEC), so that the list of candidates can be finalised by the end of this month - well ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

Asked why the Congress was not going for an "open system" where any member of the public could propose a name, along with a resume - like AAP had done earlier - a senior party insider said: "Unlike AAP, we have a proper organisational set-up and there are party workers who have worked hard. So, we need to balance the open-domain system and the party's organisational set-up." At least this time, said the Congressman, there would be an extensive exercise, where district committee and party observers gave their inputs and suggested possible candidates.