Congress 'primaries' process starts in Northeast Delhi seat

NEW DELHI: After launching "primaries" project in New Delhi Lok Sabha constituency represented by Ajay Maken, Congress today initiated the new candidate selection process in Northeast Delhi Lok Sabha seat from where Jai Prakash Agarwal is the MP.

The project, which is being experimented by Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, will allow grassroots workers to choose candidates for the coming general elections.

Under the experiment, an exercise starting with compilation of a voters' list comprising office bearers of various units of Congress will be made.

"This project has been launched with a slogan of "Nirnaya main Sajedari, Vijay main Bhagidari" in the Northeast Delhi Lok Sabha Constituency. Voters' list will be prepared by February 28. Candidates can file their nominations till March 4 and voting will be held on March 11 and results will also be declared on same day," Rajpal Singh Bisht, the returning officer for the exercise, told reporters here.

Bisht said that after the election results are out, the name of the winning candidate will be sent to the party's Central Election Committee.

Around one thousand voters will be giving votes under the primaries project.

The party said that on March 6, voting will be held for New Delhi Lok Sabha constituency and results will also be announced on the same day.

In this project, office bearers of NSUI, Congress Mahila Sangathan, Vyapar Mandal and Zilla Parishads can register themselves as voters for the same at the website, primaries.nic.in.

Besides, MLAs, MLCs, MPs, national office bearers of AICC/departments (SC, ST, OBC and Minorities) and current chairpersons of district-level associations of doctors (IMA), dentists (IDA), CAs (ICA), bar associations, engineers, traders, etc. may also sign up as voters.