Bihar polls: Cong top brass clears names of 25 candidates

New Delhi, Oct 8 (PTI) Amid seat-sharing talks with allies of the 'Mahagathbandhan' in Bihar, the Congress top leadership on Wednesday discussed party candidates for the upcoming assembly elections and is learnt to have finalised names of 25 candidates.

Sources said top leaders including Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi joined the deliberations virtually to select the party candidates at a meeting of the Central Election Committee (CEC) held at Indira Bhawan here.

AICC general secretary, organisation, K C 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 meeting of CEC and patiently heard the leaders from the state.

He said the seats discussed today are those which have already been cleared by the alliance partners and have been strongholds of the Congress.

"At the CEC meeting, we said those seats which are traditionally held by the Congress would remain with us...for which candidates have also been decided after deliberations," the Bihar Congress chief said.

"But, we will declare the names of 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 contest on would be announced jointly.

"We are happy with the seats discussed today at the CEC meeting... All top leaders agreed to our suggestions and candidates proposed by state leaders," he said.

Rajesh Ram also said there is no fight in the Mahagathbandhan partners for seats.

"We will jointly decide the candidates and announce them at a press conference, after clarity amongst all our partners," he added.

Congress' CLP leader in Bihar Assembly Shakeel Ahmed said the CEC has granted its approval to the seats which are Congress strongholds.

"One round of discussions with alliance partners remains and after that we would decide on the seats that each one is contesting," Ahmed said on questions of seat-sharing.

CEC member and Congress' Kishanganj MP Mohammed Jawaid later said senior leaders including party chief Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi 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 came even as seat sharing talks with its allies RJD and Left parties are currently on.

The assembly polls in Bihar, where the opposition bloc led by the RJD will strive to unseat the ruling NDA, will be held in two phases on November 6 and 11. The votes will be counted on November 14. PTI SKC SKC KVK KVK