RAIPUR: Keeping the 'Mission-2018' strategy in mind, the Congress party in-charge for Chhattisgarh P L Punia explicitly conveyed to his party legislators that they had to prove with their performance during the next six months in order to prove ‘eligible’ for the party ticket again. The opposition Congress, which began its extensive preparation for the next year polls, has 37 members in the 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly.
“The party leaders still have six-month time to actively work for the party following which their performances will be assessed and the decision for each constituency represented by the Congress party will be taken. They have been told to gear-up for elections by strengthening their network and communication with the people," a senior Congress leader told the New Indian Express.
The party has decided not to give ticket to the two MLAs - Siyaram Kaushik and R K Rai who had openly shown allegiance to the regional political outfit launched by the former chief minister Ajit Jogi last year.
Punia chaired a crucial meeting of Congress Legislative Party in Raipur on Sunday where each member were asked to furnish details on eight aspects of the eligibility criteria-- what they have done in their respective constituency, what issues were raised during the session of the House, the roadmap for the upcoming one year ahead of the elections, the caste factor and social criteria, how will the party win the elections, how the sitting MLA ensure his or her victory again and what were their major accomplishments.
Most of the sitting Congress MLAs were apparently seen eager to confirm the probable candidature as the choice of the party for 2018 polls. According the party leaders several sitting legislators asked Punia to either shortlist the candidates much before the elections or allot the organisational assignments to them to avoid rift within the party.