JAIPUR: Haryana leader and Rajya Sabha MP Kumari Selja’s appointment as chairperson of the Congress screening committee for the upcoming Assembly elections in Rajasthan has been perceived here as the Opposition party’s move to woo Dalits. Ms. Selja is considered close to former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
The Scheduled Caste leaders and women are likely to get priority in the selection of candidates by the screening committee for the Assembly polls. The Congress is also organising a programme in Jaipur on Sunday to “promote social and communal harmony and protect the social fabric of people's unity.”
A two-time Union Minister in the UPA regime, Ms. Selja has been frequently visiting Rajasthan and interacting with the Congress leaders here. She was earlier the state in-charge of Congress’ affairs during the Lok Sabha elections in 2014, when the party lost all the 25 seats.
According to political observers, the Congress will get an edge over the ruling BJP with the screening committee’s formation, as the latter is yet to evolve a consensus on the appointment of the state president after Ashok Parnami's resignation more than two months ago. The committee will examine the winning potential of ticket-seekers and send its recommendations for selection of candidates to the party's central election committee.
Ms. Selja will be assisted in the task by Lalitesh Tripathi and Shakir Sanadi, who have been appointed members of the screening committee. Congress president Rahul Gandhi has also constituted screening committees for Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Mizoram.
While the Congress party workers believe that the early formation of the committee would facilitate an early announcement of candidates for the Assembly elections, scheduled for December this year, Pradesh Congress vice-president Archana Sharma said the party would first work for restoring peace and brotherhood between different communities in the state.
The social harmony programme will witness the participation of intellectuals and senior Congress leaders, including AICC general secretary Avinash Pande and AICC minority department chairman Nadeem Javed. Ms. Sharma said the participants would raise their voice against “intolerance and communal tension” being spread by the ruling dispensation.