Delay in ticket allotment has aspirants, supporters on edge

The delay in announcing candidates for the Assembly elections is keeping the aspirants and their supporters on tenterhooks.

The aspirants have been shuttling between their home constituencies and Delhi, while their supporters are campaigning for them.

The Congress and AAP aspirants said instead of intensifying campaigning in their respective constituencies, the parties have left them guessing.

An AAP aspirant from Kurukshetra, said, “The party should show some faith in its workers, who have been working for the party for the past so many years, instead of waiting for other parties to declare the candidates, or settling for fewer seats in an alliance. We have worked hard for the party and the delay in announcing the candidates is affecting the morale of the party workers. It takes a lot of efforts to keep the supporters motivated and united. The parties keep waiting till the last moment and it leaves the candidates with inadequate time.”

A Congress leader from Ambala, who has been shuttling between Ambala and Delhi to persuade the high command, said, “Instead of focusing on strengthening our position, we are still awaiting confirmation. There is a tough competition in the field and the party must announce the candidates early so that they can get ample time to visit all areas of the constituency.”

He added, “There is big difference in campaigning as an aspirant and as a candidate. The first few days of the candidates get wasted in persuading the leaders who fail to get ticket. A continuous delay affects the morale of the supporters, and it also has financial implications.”

Meanwhile, Kuldeep Mehndiratta, a political observer, said, “Every aspirant forms two to three teams to handle his campaigning and prepare strategies, and the teams start working in the field months before the elections are announced. The political parties get a number of applications from each constituency and they select candidates after considering various factors, including winnability, caste equations and influence, so the delay is natural. But this phase does have psychological and emotional impact on the aspirants because if they fail to get the ticket, they have to wait for another five years, and may be even more. It gets even more difficult for the candidates when the constituencies are changed as they don’t get adequate time to strategise their campaign.”