Rahul Gandhi thinks using application forms to select poll candidates will boost transparency
Keeping in tune with his corporate working style, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has launched a project to select potential candidates for assembly and Lok Sabha elections based on their responses to the job application form.
Sources said a five-page application form has been forwarded to observers and a few potential candidates on an experimental basis, and the pilot project may later be extended to other constituencies.
Though traditional Congressmen are not happy with the new system, sources in Rahul's camp said the idea is to collect feedback on winnable candidates ahead of the elections.
The system is to ensure that godfathers and regional satraps do not play middlemen in the crucial task of finding the right candidate from each seat.
The questions asked are mostly related to the constituencies' social, political and demographic issues. The feedback will enable evaluators to understand the psychological make-up, personality traits and other aspects of the potential candidate.
The applicant is also asked for an assessment of the party's performance in his/her constituency. The form has to be filled by the party observers based on the information extracted from the ticket hopeful.
According to sources, the candidates for assembly elections in five states due in November this year and the general elections next year would be picked using the new process.
The form asks aspirants to detail previous experience at contesting elections and by what margin they have won or lost.
Getting a Congress ticket means intense lobbying with screening committee members. But this time the Congress believes that Rahul's experiment will help separate the chaff from the wheat and help bring about transparency.
