The Congress has declared senior leader Karan Singh Yadav as its candidate for the bypolls to Alwar parliamentary seat. The decision was taken at a meeting held in Delhi on Sunday.
Rajasthan in-charge Avinash Pandey, PCC chief Sachin Pilot, co-incharge Devendra Yadav, AICC secretary Zuber Khan, former minister Bhanwar Jitendra Singh and Alway Congress president Tikaram Julie were present. Around 30 party functionaries and persons who contested on the Congress ticket in last assembly elections were part of the deliberation meeting held at Pilot's home.
Rajasthan in-charge Avinash Pandey communicated to them that Rahul Gandhi wished that Jitendra Singh did not fight elections, instead play a larger role in the functioning of the party in the crucial year before Lok Sabha polls. Pandey then proposed senior local leader Dr Karan Singh's name as candidate.
While there has been no official declaration of the candidature, the state Congress has released a statement about the decision.
Dr Karan Singh is a senior cardiologist and is a two time MLA and one-time MP from Alwar. He has held the post of the national president of the Yadav Samaj and enjoys immense respect and goodwill in the area.
By selecting Yadav, Congress hopes to cash on several factors. Most importantly it hopes to dig a huge chunk into the dominant Yadav vote bank of Alwar. It is also banking on the sizeable Meo and Meena vote bank. "We hope to use our senior leader Zuber Khan, former MLA from Ramgarh, to consolidate the Meo vote in favour of Congress. The Meena vote has been with us even during Modi wave. The Congress had a lead of around 40 thousand in the Meena belt of Rajgarh in 2014," said a senior Congressman who did not wish to be named.
Another Congress leader added, "There was demand from party rank that Bhanwar Jitendra be fielded. But the party leadership is not keen on fielding either Bhanwar Jitendra or Sachin Pilot from Alwar and Ajmer respectively. They felt it would be a tactical mistake as both have a larger role to play in the forthcoming state elections."
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 "Karan Singh Yadav")
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