Ahead of the assembly elections awaited this year, Telangana Congress started accepting applications from candidates planning to contest the state Assembly elections, which will be held towards the end of the year, beginning Friday, a senior party leader said.
According to the party leaders, following the footsteps of Karnataka Congress unit, the Telangana counterpart will charge Rs 25,000 as an "applying" fee for the aspiring candidates of SC, ST, and the physically challenged categories and Rs 50,000 for the rest.
In Karnataka, Congress charged Rs 2 lakh, along with applications and other documents, from the aspiring candidates falling under the ambit of general category whereas was for SC/ST applicants, the amount was Rs 1 lakh.
The Congress formed a three-member sub-committee headed by former deputy chief minister Damodar Raja Narasimha to formulate modalities to pick candidates for the polls, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee Working President Mahesh Kumar Goud, one of the members of the panel, said.
Requirements from the aspiring candidates
According to Goud, "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."
Besides, the candidates will also have to mention their social media handles along with other information for background check.
The Pradesh Election Committee will meet during the first week of September and scrutinise all the applications and make recommendations to the AICC.
Goud said the party did not charge any amount during the last two Assembly polls -- 2018 and 2014. However, it charged Rs 10,000 in the 2009 polls.
He hoped that with the "applying fee", the party would expect only serious contenders to come forward.
