New Delhi, Dec 24 The Congress' Central Election Committee (CEC) on Tuesday released its second list of 26 candidates for the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi participated in the CEC meeting via video conferencing while Delhi in-charge Qazi Mohammad Nizamuddin and Delhi unit chief Devender Yadav, among other members of the CEC, were physically present at the AICC headquarters here.
With Congress and ruling AAP not contesting together as an alliance in Delhi Assembly elections, the grand old party has fielded Farhad Suri to take on AAP's Manish Sisodia from Jangpura. Haji Ishraq Khan has been given a ticket for the Babarpur seat.
Rajesh Lilothia will be contesting from the SC reserved seat, Seemapuri.
The Congress has fielded Sushant Mishra from Rithala, Hanuman Chauhan from Mangol Puri (SC), Satish Luthra from Shakur Basti, Satender Sharma from Tri Nagar and Asim Ahmed Khan from Matia Mahal. Rajendra Ramdhari will contest from Moti Nagar and JP Panwar from Madipur (SC). The party has fielded Pradeep Kumar Upmanyu from Delhi Cantt and Vineet Yadav from Rajinder Nagar.
After the Congress' CEC meeting on Tuesday, the party's Delhi in-charge Qazi Mohammad Nizamuddin told reporters, "Earlier the discussion happened in the screening committee meeting, now a detailed seat-wise discussion happened in the CEC meeting. Many seats have been cleared by the CEC. There were some pending seats. We will be releasing the list soon."
When asked about the names of candidates on some prominent seats in Delhi, he said, "All 70 seats are important for us. We will try to fight strongly on all seats."
Earlier, the Congress released its first list of 21 candidates on December 12, fielding ex-MP Sandeep Dikshit from New Delhi, setting up a contest between him and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal.
The Delhi Congress unit held a meeting on Monday on manifesto preparation for the upcoming Assembly elections, with its city unit chief Devender Yadav saying the party does not make promises it cannot fulfil.
Sources indicate that the party is likely to include a promise of Rs 3,000 per month for women and 400 units of free electricity in its manifesto.
Yadav told a press conference that the party held interactions with people over what should be included in the manifesto.
"We believe that only those promises should be made that can be fulfilled. The Congress does not believe in mere talking," Yadav said.
Meanwhile, former AAP MLAs Asif Ahmad Khan and Devinder Sehrawat joined the Congress on Monday.
Yadav said that ever since Arvind Kejriwal became the Chief Minister of Delhi, the Congress has maintained that the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party are together in misleading the people of the city with false promises.
The Assembly polls of Delhi are due in February 2025.
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