Sources said senior leaders, including Congress Parliamentary Party president Sonia Gandhi, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, virtually joined the deliberations to select party candidates at a meeting of the Central Election Commission (CEC) held at Indira Bhawan here.
The organization’s AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, party treasurer Ajay Maken and other leaders also attended the meeting.
Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Ram said all top leaders joined the discussions at the CEC meeting and patiently heard the state leaders.
He said the seats discussed today are those which have already been secured by the alliance partners and are Congress strongholds.
“In the CEC meeting, we declared that the seats traditionally held by the Congress would remain with us… for which candidates were also chosen after deliberations,” the Bihar Congress chief said.
“But we will declare the names of the candidates only after discussion with our alliance partners and also with our state leaders,” he told reporters.
He said the number of seats each partner would run for would be announced jointly.
“We are satisfied with the seats discussed today at the CEC meeting… All senior leaders accepted our suggestions and the candidates proposed by the heads of state,” he said.
Rajesh Ram also said that there was no fight between the Mahagathbandhan partners for the seats.
“We will jointly decide on the candidates and announce them at a press conference, after clarification between all our partners,” he added.
CLP Congress leader in the Bihar Assembly Shakeel Ahmed said the CEC has given approval to seats which are Congress strongholds.
“There is still a round of discussions with the alliance partners and after that we will decide which seats each is running for,” Ahmed said of seat-sharing issues.
Mohammed Jawaid, CEC member and Congress MP from Kishanganj, later said that senior leaders, including Kharge party chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, had joined the discussions virtually.
“The party has cleared the names of 25 candidates for the upcoming Bihar polls,” he told reporters after the meeting.
The deliberations took place even as seat-sharing talks with its allies, the RJD and the Left parties, are currently underway.
The assembly elections in Bihar, where the RJD-led opposition bloc will seek to unseat the ruling NDA, will be held in two phases on November 6 and 11. Votes will be counted on November 14.
