Record 80 candidates file nominations for CWC poll

A record 80 Congress leaders have filed their nominations for the 10 elected berths on the Congress Working Committee, the party's top policy-making body.

Among those who have filed their nominations for the CWC election are party vice-president Jitendra Prasada, Narain Dutt Tewari, Tariq Anwar, Pranab Mukherjee, Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, Ajit Panja, Giridhar Gomango, Ramachandra Rath, K C Lenka, Arjun Singh, V C Shukla, Sharad Pawar, Rajesh Pilot, Ghulam Nabi Azad, K Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy, N Janardhan Reddy, Janardhan Poojary, H Hanumanthappa, S M Krishna, C K Jaffer Sharief, Margaret Alva, R Prabhu, Mani Shankar Aiyar, Ramesh Chennithala and Mukul Wasnik.

According to party sources, Pradesh Congress Committee presidents have not filed nominations for the CWC election.

Oscar Fernandes, the returning officer for the CWC election, said polling will take place on Saturday evening and the results are expected late on Saturday night. One thousand and sixty AICC members will constitute the electoral college for the CWC election. Withdrawals of nominations will be permitted till noon on Saturday.

The CWC has 20 members, of which 10 will be nominated by the party president.

Fortyeight Congress leaders contested the last CWC election in Tirupati five years ago. After the election, then party president P V Narasimha Rao asked all the elected members to resign on the ground that there should be adequate representation for weaker sections.

Eight of the 10 elected members, barring Rajesh Pilot and A K Antony resigned. Rao accepted Sharad Pawar and Arjun Singh's resignations, but permitted the other elected members to continue on the CWC. Pawar and Singh were then included in the CWC in the nominated category.

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