Congress to Name 70 Assembly Candidates on March 1

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Sarat Pattanayak on Monday said his party would announce names of at least 70 candidates in the first phase for the upcoming assembly elections in the state. In an attempt to maintain transparency in candidate selection and ticket distribution, the Congress has launched a new initiative called Project Pragaman for the upcoming twin polls in Odisha. The project also intends to recruit new leaders to the Congress party. 

This online portal launched in this regard remained open from 4 to 11 February 2024.

“From now onwards, only honest and dedicated Congress workers will get the chance to secure a ticket without any references and family lineage,” Congress’ Odisha in-charge Ajoy Kumar said



during the launch of the portal on February 1. A 23-member Pradesh Election Committee (PEC) has been formed to finalise the tickets from the aspirants. The PEC will send the shortlisted names to the Central Election Committee of the party for final approval.

As per reports, three thousand applications for MLA tickets and seven hundred applications were received for MP seats through the Pragaman portal. Most of the applicants are youths and are below the age group of 40, sources in the party said. Speaking about the tickets, Congress MLA, Santosh Singh Saluja said, “The Pradesh Election Committee (PEC) will sit under the chairmanship of the OPCC chief. We will discuss the names and send those names to the AICC for approval.”