The Telangana Congress will begin taking applications from candidates seeking to run in the state Assembly elections scheduled for the end of the year on Friday, according to a senior party leader.
Following in the footsteps of the Karnataka Congress, the Telangana unit will collect Rs 25,000 as a ‘applying’ fee for SC, ST, and physically challenged candidates, and Rs 50,000 for everyone else.
In the earlier May Assembly elections, the Karnataka unit of the party asked Rs 2 lakh, along with applications and other paperwork, from aspiring candidates in the general category, while it was Rs 1 lakh for SC/ST applicants.
Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee Working President Mahesh Kumar Goud, one of the panel’s members, said the Congress constituted a three-member sub-committee headed by former deputy chief minister Damodar Raja Narasimha to design mechanisms for selecting candidates for the polls.
‘By this afternoon, we will be uploading the necessary forms to be filled up by the candidates. Applicants will have to fill up the form and submit it along with a DD (Rs 50,000 or Rs 25,000) before August 25,’ Goud told PTI.
He went on to say that while the sub-committee proposed Rs 25,000 (for the general category), the party’s high leadership set the price at Rs 50,000.
According to a senior TPCC leader, potential candidates must include their social media accounts as well as other information so that the party may undertake a background check.
During the first week of September, the Pradesh Election Committee will convene to review all applications and make recommendations to the AICC.
Goud stated that the party did not demand any fees during the last two Assembly elections in 2018 and 2014. In the 2009 elections, however, it charged Rs 10,000.
He believed that by charging a ‘applying fee,’ the party would expect only serious candidates to apply.
Later, in an interview with the media, TPCC chief Revanth Reddy stated that all qualified applications will be submitted to survey teams in the field to evaluate the applicants’ credentials and strengths at the grassroots level.
Following the screening, the AICC Central Election Committee will finalise the candidate list, he said.
‘We at PCC will only make suggestions and recommendations to the AICC. CEC will take final decision and announce the candidates list,’ Reddy said.
Candidates may also apply for more than one constituency.
Post Your Comments