MP polls: Congress, BJP yet to announce candidates

Bhopal, Oct 31: Ruling

and Opposition

in

seem to be still scouting for prospective candidates for distribution of tickets for the November 25

as both the parties are yet to make any announcement in this regard.

According to Congress sources, many meetings of various committees have been held in New Delhi but names of candidates have not been finalised so far.

The party had announced quite some time back that tickets for Assembly elections would be announced three months in advance but there are no signs yet, even as filing of nominations for the polls is slated to begin tomorrow.

"It is possible that at least some of the candidates will be declared tonight," sources said.

Congress has been putting up a show of unity but sources say that leaders in the faction-ridden party are not seeing eye to eye over distribution of tickets till now.

The problem appears to be rather more acute in the BJP with party workers from many constituencies staging dharnas and demonstrations at the state office here to protest tickets to sitting MLAs and some ministers.

Agitating workers claim that if the party gave tickets to sitting MLAs and ministers, its chances of winning the elections would be severely dimmed. However BJP Vice-President, Prabhat Jha said that not much significance should be attached to these protests.

Jha said that in BJP, once ticket is allotted to a person for any constituency, all workers combine efforts to ensure his victory. The show of unity by Congress leaders in MP has already come under severe criticism from Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who termed it as a "mere facade".

Responding to Chouhan, Leader of Opposition in MP Assembly, Ajay Singh today said that the CM's remarks were meaningless and he is feeling threatened by the unity among Congress leaders.

"Whether this unity is real or fake would be known only after election results," he said. Meanwhile, poll surveys in MP have predicted a win for the BJP.

But Congress leaders dismissed it and claim victory this time. To a query, Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh had yesterday said that all these surveys should be torn and dumped into a dustbin.

PTI