Faridabad: Ahead of Assembly elections, ticket aspirants worry over selection process

Bijendra Ahlawat

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Faridabad, July 19

As a majority of aspiring candidates and their supporters feel that the result of the Lok Sabha poll are unlikely to have much impact on the state Assembly poll, they see the selection process adopted by party leaders as a matter of concern.

“While many aspirants have already started lobbying to ensure their preference on the list, a majority of them are not sure of their fate due to the absence of a clear-cut selection process,” said political analyst Varun Sheokand. He said candidates’ personal connections with the influential leaders in the party high command was expected to play a vital role in assigning tickets.

Seemingly annoyed with the denial of the party ticket from the Faridabad segment in the recent Lok Sabha elections, former MLA and senior Congress leader Karan Singh Dalal said he expected the party high command to look for candidates who had a strong local grip and enjoyed a good rapport in the constituency.

He added that the winnability of the candidate should be given priority.

He opined that the selection process may have been responsible for the defeat of the party in the Lok Sabha poll. “The party high command should refrain from giving tickets to those who have lost two times consecutively, and should give priority to local candidates rather than outsiders,’’ said Hem Dagar, an aspirant for Congress party ticket from the Prithla Assembly segment.

Stressing the importance of a clean image and proper dedication to the promotion of the party policies, Indian Youth Congress leader Parag Sharma said while the final decision depended on the party high command, she opines that preference should be given to the younger generation, especially women, as this could prove to be a game changer.

Senior BJP leader and an aspirant for a party ticket Rajiv Jaitly said dedication and hard work needed to be taken into account, besides the image of the candidate.

Former MLA Tek Chand Sharma said factors like connectivity with the masses, past performance and image, and caste could be the parameters for selection in many segments.