The Congress party on Sunday released the second list of its candidates for the upcoming Rajasthan assembly elections.
Additionally, the Congress party also appointed a four-member coordination committee to oversee the Rajasthan assembly elections.
The second list contains the names of 43 candidates. The list includes 15 ministers from Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's government.
Earlier, the party had released the names of 33 candidates on Saturday, including CM Gehlot from Sardarpura seat and senior leader Sachin Pilot from Tonk. The PTI noted that three leaders who rebelled against Gehlot along with Pilot in 2020 have also been given tickets: Indraj Singh Gurjar from Virat Nagar, Mukesh Bhakhar from Ladnun, and Ramniwas Gawariya from Parbatsar.
The Rajasthan assembly polls are scheduled for November 25 for 200 seats in the state. The counting of votes will take place on December 3.
The Congress party's coordination panel is headed by senior leader Mohan Prakash and also comprises Laxman Singh Rawat and Rajya Sabha MP Neeraj Dangi as convenors and Ramsingh Kaswan as co-convenor.
"The Congress President has approved the proposal for the constitution of a Coordination Committee for the ensuing Assembly Elections in Rajasthan - 2023, with immediate effect," said Congress in a statement, as per PTI.
In a separate development, Mangat Ram Singhal was also appointed as the treasurer of the party's Delhi unit.
"The Congress President has approved the proposal for the appointment of Mangat Ram Singhal as Treasurer of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee, with immediate effect," said an order by All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal, as per PTI.
While the Congress party is projecting unity lately, the Rajasthan unit of the party has been riddled with infighting over the years. For a long time, Pilot was in rebellion against CM Gehlot. Pilot had rebelled unsuccessfully in 2020 which cost him his posts of the Deputy CM and state unit chief of the party. The two have also traded verbal blows where Gehlot has used terms like traitor and useless for Pilot, who has also held sit-in protests against his own party's government.
The Congress party came to power in Rajasthan in 2018 after defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led in the state at the time by Vasundhara Raje. This time, the BJP is relying on issues like crimes against women and Dalits and law and order to take on the Gehlot-led Congress government.
