Chandigarh: The Congress party is in for another blow in Haryana. A party that always received overwhelming response from applicants for party tickets in Assembly elections is now facing another low. After inviting applications last month for party tickets for the 90 Assembly constituencies of Haryana, the party State unit received only 1,212 applications. In the year 2009 the count was 8000.
Three constituencies - Kiloi, Tosham and Nuh - saw only one application each. Hooda represents Kiloi in the Haryana Assembly, while state Cabinet ministers Kiran Chowdhury and Aftab Ahmed are local MLAs from Tosham and Nuh. In half of the total 90 assembly constituencies, the Congress received barely two to three applications.
Thirtyfive applications each were received from Kalanor and Nilokhedi - the maximum for any constituency.
"It is true that the party has received few applications this time. This is due to the party's decision to charge ticket fee. While the general candidates are required to deposit a nonrefundable ticket fee of Rs.10,000, the same for applicants from the backward castes is Rs.5,000 and Rs.2,500 for the Dalits and women candidates," a senior Congress leader said.
While the fate of the ticket seekers will be decided by the Congress high command, the party has already collected more than Rs.88 lakh as ticket fees from the applicants.
Besides the ticket fee, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has also put another condition before the ticket seekers. Sources in the Congress said Hooda has directed the applicants to bring at least 1,000 people at his Panipat rally on August 24.
Meanwhile, Hooda on Saturday dismissed the ABP News-Nielsen prepoll survey that projected the BJP sweeping Haryana in the Assembly elections.
The chief minister questioned that how a survey conducted in only 45 constituencies could give results for all the 90 segments in the state. Hooda, who was addressing a meeting of party workers in Chandigarh, said the survey projected 37 per cent vote share for the Congress.
He exhorted the party workers to work hard for extra two per cent of vote share, saying that the Congress would be able to form the government for the third consecutive time with 39 per cent of vote share. "Haryana is the first state in the country to give a reservation of 10 per cent on economical basis.
Before 2005, the INLD-BJP remained in power in the state. We have so far allotted 100 square yards to 3.82 lakh families belonging to Scheduled Castes, backward classes and those living below poverty line.
Apart from this, Priyadarshini Awas Yojna (PAY) has been implemented under which two lac houses would be constructed for the poor in the State," Hooda said.
