Bungling Congress name dead party member in selection panel



In a bizarre incident, the Congress named a dead leader for a panel to select candidates for the upcoming Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).



Apparently unaware that Congress legislative party (CLP) leader in J&K Chaudhry Mohammad Aslam had passed away on June 15, the Congress included his name in the panel to select candidates in J&K in a statement issued on Friday.



Though the mistake was later rectified, the Congress still mentioned the CLP leader as a member of the panel even though the party had not named a successor to Aslam, who died at the age of 70.



Faux pas: Sonia Gandhi (above left) had offered condolence after the death of Congress legislative party leader Chaudhry Mohammad Aslam (right) before naming him in a selection panel



Ironically, the first panel was approved by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, who had earlier condoled Aslam's death.



The move reportedly caused discomfort to the leader's family. A veteran Congressman and Assembly member from Surankote, Aslam had not been in good health for the past three years after suffering a paralytic stroke.

A native of Poonch, Aslam crossed over to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir after Partition but returned in 1951. He was the state Congress chief for 17 long years.



The Congress faux pas came in the wake of the recent divorce between the Congress and the National Conference (NC), which had been running a coalition government in J&K since January 2009.

The Congress parted ways with the NC after workers of both parties told their leaders there was no point in going to the polls together.



The Congress and the NC face a tough competition in the state from the PDP and the BJP, which is making attempts to increase its presence in the strategic border state.



In the recent Lok Sabha polls, the PDP and the BJP won three seats each while both the Congress and the NC failed to open their accounts.

Congress communication department chief Ajay Maken heads the Jammu and Kashmir panel to select candidates for the Assembly polls.



The committee also has party veterans Ambika Soni and Saifuddin Soz and Kolkata-based AICC secretary Shubhankar Sarkar as members.

Meanwhile, the Congress also named panels to select candidates in other poll-bound states like Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand.

While veteran Mallikarjun Kharge heads the screening committee for Maharashtra, Rahul Gandhi's aide Jitendra Singh and party spokesman P.C. Chacko will be in-charge of panels in Jharkhand and Haryana, respectively.

