Cong institutes 50-member election campaign committee

Mumbai, Nov 6 (UNI) Maharashtra Congress has instituted a 50-member election campaign committee ahead of the crucial local bodies polls beginning November 19 where elections will be held in 167 municipal councils and two Nagar Panchayats.

Party spokesman Sanjay Nirupam told reporters here today that the committee would decide on poll strategy and campaigning for the local bodies polls beginning with the municipal councils elections.

There are also polls to 27 zilla parishads and more than 300 panchayat samitis and 14 municipal corporations next year.

The committee comprises state Congress chief Prabha Rau, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Mumbai Congress president Gurudas Kamat, all Congress Union Ministers from the state, senior state cabinet ministers like Patangrao Kadam, Narayan Rane, Satish Chaturvedi, Ashok Chavan, Vasant Purke, Anees Ahmed, Balasaheb Thorat and Harshvardhan Patil, 11 party MPs and other senior office-bearers.

He said the Congress would contest 2724 wards in 131 municipal councils on its own and would tie up with NCP in 173 wards of 18 municipal councils spread across four districts in Marathwada and Konkan.

There are 3826 wards where elections will be held. In 72 places, Congress would back independents, RPI and other small parties in 104 wards and tie up with local fronts in 696 places and make alliance with NCP in 173 wards, he said.

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