Loyalty pledge for Guj Cong nominees

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 27

Fearing factionalism and rebel effect in the upcoming Gujarat elections, the Congress has resolved to get the loyalty of state candidates on oath.

A senior Gujarat Congress leader today said every candidate who has applied for the crucial state elections due later this year will have to pledge on oath that they would continue to owe allegiance to the party and could be equated to “traitors” if they rebel upon being denied the official ticket.

“This is a demand that came up from the candidates themselves. As many as 1,500 candidates have applied for 182 Assembly tickets in the state,” a senior Congress leader said.

The West Bengal Congress had earlier got party applicants for the last state elections to sign affidavits of loyalty to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi. The issue had triggered a controversy over why a political party was forcing loyalty down the throat of workers.

Later again in Punjab, where Congress strategist Prashant Kishor was asked to mobilise cadres, the ticket applicants were required to say that they would continue to work for the party even if denied a ticket officially. In Gujarat, the Congress is hoping for a comeback.