PANAJI
The Congress will announce the first list of its candidates for the upcoming Goa polls by the end of this month or the first week of December, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president Girish Chodankar said on Sunday and added that a bulk of the nominees would be young and new.
Addressing a press conference, Chodankar reiterated that MLAs who had defected and joined other parties will not be considered.
“The common sentiment of our cadre is that the party needs to declare candidates early. The process of short-listing candidates for the Assembly polls will gather momentum as the AICC has announced a screening committee for Goa. At least 70 to 80 per cent of Congress candidates will be young and new,” he said.
Elections to the State Assembly are due in February next year.
Chodankar also said block committees of the party will be taken into confidence while deciding the candidates.
More importance would be given to the candidates recommended by the block committees in respective constituencies, he said.
The Congress leader however, refused to comment on a pre-poll alliance with like-minded parties.
Chodankar also rejected the idea of declaring a CM candidate before election and said Congress has done well in previous elections when CM candidate was not declared.
In the 2017 Assembly polls, the Congress had won the highest 17 seats in the 40-member House restricting the BJP at 13. However, the BJP allied with regional parties -- GFP and MGP -- to form a government under the late Manohar Parrikar.
Over years, the Congress'' strength dwindled to four as many MLAs switched over to the ruling BJP. Faleiro recently joined TMC.
