Gehlot, Ajit Jogi to enter fray; Cong to re-nominate most MLAs in BJP states

NEW DELHI: For the record, Congress may be sticking to tradition by not projecting anyone as chief ministerial candidates in the upcoming assembly elections.

But barring Madhya Pradesh, the Congress high command appears to be clear in its mind as to who will lead the Congress challenges in BJP-ruled Chattisgarh and Rajasthan.

Former chief ministers Ajit Jogi and Ashok Gehlot have got the high command���s signal to enter the electoral fray. In Delhi, Ms Shiela Dikshit, who weathered many in-house rebellions during her 10-year chief ministership, will be the obvious Congress face against BJP challenger Vijay Kumar Malhotra.

The names of Mr Gehlot and Mr Jogi figure in the list for Rajasthan and Chattisgarh that have been forwarded by the respective AICC screening committees for approval of the high command.

While Mr Jogi���s is the only name that has been proposed as Congress candidate from the Marwahi constituency which he won twice, Mr Gehlot is being listed from Sardarpur constituency, his home turf.

Mr Digvijay Singh and Mr P R Dasmunsi head the AICC screening committees for Rajasthan and Chattisgarh, respectively.
Congress sources read a clear signal in theses moves as Mr Jogi���s name is being proposed despite he being a Lok Sabha member. In the case of Mr Gehlot he is not either the PCC chief or Opposition leader in the state assembly.

Mr Jogi, who recently reclaimed his stranglehold on the Chattisgarh PCC after his 2003 post-poll political and legal mess, has been striking an aggressive posture, saying he was ready to run against the BJP chief minister if he announced his seat in advance.

With Mr Raman Singh ���ducking the challenge���, Mr Jogi has opted for his home constituency, while his wife and MLA Renu Jogi���s name figure for the Kota general constituency.

V C Shukla will not contest but his family will be represented in the fray by his nephew Ambaresh. In case of Motilal Vohra, his son has been given a seat.

The move to field Mr Gehlot is seen as a rebuff to his rivals in the Rajasthan Congress who have been leading a whispering campaign that the Jat community was still against him.

The AICC feels he was the only vocal voice from within the state Congress against the BJP government in the past five years. The AICC has already projected a Brahmin-Jat combination at the organisational level.

It is also learnt that the Congress screening committees of Rajasthan, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh favour renomination for most MLAs. While 30 of the 34 Congress MLAs of Chattisgarh have been cleared by the steering committee, Most of the 50 odd MLAs of Rajasthan are also set to get Congress tickets.

The Veerappa- Moily-led Madhya Pradesh panel has cleared 36 of 41 MLAs for renomination, along with the four MLAs the party recently poached from the Samajwadi Party.

The meetings for choosing Delhi candidates is yet to begin.

The Congress central election committee will meet from next week to formally declare candidates for assembly elections.