Rajasthan civic polls: Congress gets 40,000-plus ticket applications through QR-based system

The Congress has received more than 40,000 applications for 10,245 Councillor seats across 309 urban local bodies in Rajasthan, prompting the party to intensify its candidate-selection exercise ahead of the municipal elections, party sources said on Wednesday.

Speaking to IANS, State Congress spokesperson Swarnim Chaturvedi attributed the large response to the party's newly introduced QR-based application system, particularly its outreach to young aspirants seeking to contest the local body elections.

The Congress has launched an online portal for candidates seeking party tickets for the urban local body elections.

A QR code has been issued through which aspirants can access the application form and submit their details.

Chaturvedi said, "Our observers are on the ground and will interact with grassroots workers to assess the profiles of the aspirants. All applications will be evaluated at the grassroots level before panels are prepared and forwarded to the district committees."

He also added that the Congress has decided to give more than 50 per cent of its tickets to youth.

The Congress has also ruled out "parachute candidates" and recommendations from outside the local organisational structure.

Candidate selection will be undertaken at the district level, with emphasis on local workers, electoral prospects and organisational involvement.

The party has also sought to draw lessons from previous municipal elections, when rebels contesting against official Congress candidates contributed to losses in several wards.

Special teams have therefore been constituted to monitor workers who have previously acted against the party line or breached organisational discipline.

"The loyalty and past record of workers will be assessed before tickets are allotted, while priority will be given to candidates considered strong and winnable," Chaturvedi added.

The Congress leader, meanwhile, explaining the process said, "The Congress selection process is being conducted in three phases. In the first phase, party observers visited wards and consulted local functionaries and grassroots workers. In the second, applications were invited through online and offline channels. The third phase involves direct interaction between observers and ticket aspirants to assess their electoral prospects, local equations and backgrounds. Following the scrutiny of applications, party office-bearers and senior leaders will discuss the contenders. Ward-wise panels will subsequently be prepared and forwarded to the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee on Aug 27 for a final decision."

The Congress plans to release its Councillor candidate list by midnight on August 28 or 29, with party symbols likely to be allotted on Aug 29.

Congress leader Pratap Singh Khachariyawas has also emphasised that aspirants should seek tickets from the wards where they reside, while stressing that strong and winnable workers will be given preference.

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