Cong for new faces to win the 2008 assembly poll in Chhattisgarh

            Raipur, September 8, 2008: After losing badly to BJP in successive elections, the main opposition Congress is contemplating to field fresh candidates to snatch power in November assembly polls of Chhattisgarh.

            Amid pressure from the former students’ leaders of the state to give more representation to their milieu in Congress, led by Anjay Shukla, some of them have even sought an appoint from AICC President Sonia Gandhi to press for their demand to field as many youths in the coming assembly election, who would be new to assembly polls.

            Congress is also worried as a survey conducted by the party had not given a very favourable report about its prospect in Chhattisgarh and looking into that several steps were being considered by the national leaderships.

            “Among the steps suggested are fielding of fresh candidates in the coming election as there would be little allegations or discontentment against them among the party workers and voters compared to the older ones,” an AICC leader told the ChhattisgarhTopNews.Com.

             It would be a difficult task to field more youths or fresh candidates as the old but defeated candidates are already attached to one or the other groups and there is hardly any one like Ram Chandra Singh Deo, who is equi-distant from all groups. But top party leadership had also conducted a survey about the background of the likely candidates and on the basis of that report some of the youths could be picked up.

              AICC General Secretary In-Charge of Chhattisgarh, Narayan Samy also confirmed the report of giving importance to new faces in the coming election. “Definitely keeping in mind the strategy of forming the next government in Chhattisgarh candidates would be selected and new faces would be one of the several criteria,” he said.

              The first and foremost thing about any candidate would be his chance of winning the election and that would be decided after taking inputs from surveys of both the external and internal agencies, Samy said.

              The State Election Committee had also deliberated in Raipur about the strategy for the coming election and the criteria for selecting candidates although a brought outline had already been decided by the AICC, he said adding Congress was working on a definite plan to snatch away power from BJP in the coming Assembly election.