MCD polls: Cong tickets to candidates with 'winnablity' factor

Image: Representational/PTI

New Delhi: Congress has given almost 100 tickets to party's Purvanchali workers and sitting councillors, relying on their "winnability" aspect in MCD polls as it aims to win and recapture lost ground. Reposing faith in its sitting councillors, Congress has given tickets to 54 of the 86 outgoing members in the three municipal corporations. A total of 44 workers of Purvnachal background have also been given tickets, said party leader Chatar Singh. The party has also given 144 tickets to women candidates, exceeding the mandated reservation of half of the 272 seats in the three municipal corporations for women. The party has given seats to eight women on unreserved seats also. "The party has given tickets to professionals as well as sports persons including former captain of Indian Kabaddi team Dinesh Bhardwaj who is a recipient of the Arjuna award," said chief spokesperson of Delhi Congress Sharmishtha Mukherjee. Two women doctors -- Anisha Gupta practising in the Sanjay Gandhi hospital, and Anita Babbar, former deputy mayor of MCD-- have also got the party's backing for the MCD polls. Dinesh Bhardwaj has been given ticket to contest from Bankaner ward. Former Delhi Congress president Subhash Chopra rebutted charges of "irregularities" in ticket distribution claiming the "most transparent" system was adopted by the party for candidate selection. "Feedback of nearly 39,000 workers was taken through phone calls for selection of candidates. The topmost priority has been given to the factor of winnability as well as choice of the ground-level party workers," he said. Chopra accepted that there was resentment in some party workers over ticket distribution, saying it was natural as there were large number of applicants for tickets. "It is bound to be there as on an average there were 10-12 applicants from each of the 272 wards. Those who have not been given tickets are bound to resent," he said.