Congress will pick Lok Sabha faces from February 27
At present, the main Opposition party is busy screening candidates from various states, sources said.
New Delhi: The Congress will kick off the formal process of selecting candidates for Lok Sabha polls with the first meeting of its all-powerful central election committee (CEC), headed by party chief Rahul Gandhi, on February 27. Initial discussions on probable candidates for politically crucial Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and the seven Northeastern states are likely to be held during the meeting, party sources said.
The CEC meeting will signal the Congress formally getting into election mode ahead of the expected announcement of the Lok Sabha poll schedule by the Election Commission in the first week of March.
At present, the main Opposition party is busy screening candidates from various states, sources said.
Till Monday, the first round of screening of candidates from Maharashtra, Delhi and Odisha had been completed, they said.
Sources privy to developments said that the Congress is expected to come out with its final list of candidates for all the states after several rounds of CEC meetings.
Considering the fact that the party is in alliance talks with regional parties in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and other states, the CEC is expected to reserve its final decision on the list of candidates till negotiations reach a conclusive stage. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi is also a CEC member.