New Delhi: The screening committee of Congress would hold another meeting Saturday as the short listing of candidates for 21 Lok Sabha and 147 Assembly constituencies in Odisha is yet to be completed. Sources said the committee short listed the names for 15 Lok Sabha and 105 Assembly constituencies in the state.
According to the sources, the members of the screening committee of the party held marathon rounds of discussions on the selection of candidates till 4am Tuesday.
Senior party leaders said the screening committee has shortlisted the candidates for 15 Lok Sabha constituencies and 105 Assembly constituencies where voting will be held in the first, second and third phase. The screening committee, sources said, would hold another meeting to select candidates for remaining six Lok Sabha and 42 Assembly constituencies.
After the short listing of candidates by screening committee, the names would be sent to party’s central election committee for approval.
The screening committee meeting was held at the residence of Rajya Sabha MP KVP Ramachandra Rao at 10 Lodhi Estate here. It was chaired by VP Sathisan and attended by screening committee members Naushad Solanki and Jiten Prasad, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) in-charge Jitendra Singh, OPCC president Niranjan Patnaik, working presidents Pradeep Majhi, Chiranjib Biswal and other Congress leaders.