Hectic lobbying on in Congress

RAJYA SABHA Elections

By Our Staff Reporter

Guwahati, March 9: With the arithmetic pointing to the Congress bagging both the Rajya Sabha seats up for grabs from the State in the coming elections, intense lobbying for candidature is on within the ruling party.

March 11 is the last date for filing of nomition. Though the date of election is March 21, the Congress has moved the Election Commission seeking a change as it coincides with the last date of filing of nomitions for the second phase of assembly elections.

State Congress president Anjan Dutta has prepared a list of candidates in consultation with Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. Dutta has been camping in New Delhi since yesterday after proposing the list to the party high command which will take a fil call.

Sources indicated that the State unit is keen on giving one ticket to a person from religious minority community and the other to a person from the tea community.

However, some party members led by a senior minister are projecting a senior bureaucrat for one seat. This group had launched a sigture campaign and is lobbying hard within the AICC.

Given the chasm within the Opposition, the Congress is likely to romp home in both the RS seats. A candidate needs 39 votes to win.