Congress defends seeking money from ticket aspirants; claims 'sign of transparency'

On Wednesday, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Kumar Lallu defended his party's move to ask the Assembly election ticket aspirants to pay a contribution amount. While submitting their applications seeking a Congress ticket, they have to deposit Rs.11,000 via RTGS, money order, or demand draft. Speaking to the media, Lallu clarified that the amount was necessary for Congress to function effectively. He cited the publication of a circular in this regard as a sign of the party's "transparency". 

"This is the contribution amount. Any institution or organization needs contribution to go ahead. Any institution or political party functions only on the basis of contributions. There is no compulsion. I feel that the Congress party is doing its work with transparency," UP Congress chief Ajay Lallu remarked. 

The circular signed by Lallu mentions that the district and city Congress committee chiefs have been authorized to collect the said applications at the district headquarters while Sanjay Sharma and Vijay Bahadur will be in charge of the process at the state level. While the ticket aspirants will get a receipt after depositing the money, it is unclear as to whether it will be refunded in case an applicant doesn't get the poll ticket. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra faces an uphill task of reviving the party in UP where it won only 7 seats in the 2017 Assembly polls. 

Congress upbeat about UP polls

In the 2017 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, BJP won a whopping 312 seats in the 403-member House, whereas BSP could win only 19 seats. On the other hand, the SP-Congress alliance failed to bear fruit as it could win in only 54 constituencies. While this was seen as a mandate for PM Modi as BJP had not declared any CM candidate, Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath was a surprise pick for the post. Addressing the media on September 12, senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid indicated that the party may not project Vadra as the CM face before the election.

Revealing that Congress will contest all 403 seats in the state, he added, "The party will not form an alliance with any party. We will contest the elections with firm belief. Party workers will go to each constituency to know the problems being faced by the local people". To bolster its chances, Congress has decided to embark on a 12,000 km-long yatra 'Hum Vachan Nibhayenge Pratigya' (we will fulfill our promises) Yatra across the state. As a part of this mass outreach initiative, this Yatra will cover major villages and towns.