Congress to check background of candidates for Bihar assembly polls

Although the doors of the Congress were open to all those persons who believed in its ideology, the party will check the background of each candidate before considering them for assembly tickets, a senior party leader said today.

"However, there should not be any pre-condition to join it ahead of the polls", Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) president Chaudhary Mehboob Ali Kaiser said.

On the Congress's stand on the role of Bahubalis (politicians with muscle power) within the party, the BPCC president said his party will not give tickets to the Bahubalis if they were found to be facing serious criminal cases against them.

Meanwhile, eight leaders of several political parties joined the Congress today.

Those leaders joining the Congress included Ex-MPs Anil Yadav and Naresh Yadav(of RJD), former minister Ram Preet Paswan(RJD) ex-MLA Naeem Akhtar, Purnia Zila Panchayat Chairman Kranti Devi, LJP's Umesh Paswan and Former Gopalganj MP Nagina Rai's son and district cooperative bank's chairman Mahesh Rai.

While enlisting the new entrants, Kaiser said that his party's standing as a viable alternative to the outgoing NDA government has been established with a large number of influential leaders from various political parties "making a beeline" to join its ranks.