Haryana Congress today rubbished its suspended leader Birender Singh's claim that the party will be "finished" in the upcoming Assembly polls and asserted that there was no dearth of candidates who would win.
"Winnability is a key factor in the allocation of tickets ...Congress in Haryana has no dearth of such aspirants," state Congress chief Ashok Tanwar said.
Singh, who had been vocal against the Hooda government, was suspended from Congress yesterday for alleged anti-party activities.
He had said Congress will be finished ahead of Assembly polls in Haryana.
Tanwar said Congress high command will clear the names of party candidates in the first week of September, focusing more on youths and women.
The party has received around 1,212 applications for tickets for the 90 Assembly seats.
Taking a jibe at Singh, who is likely to join BJP tomorrow, Tanwar said that "by suspending him (Birender) from Congress, the party has given him complete freedom ... He had been involved in anti-party activities for long."
Singh had met BJP chief Amit Shah last month and appears set to dump the party and join BJP.
In a tough message to dissidents, Congress suspended the rebel party MP for "gross indiscipline" and "deliberately lowering the prestige of the party".
The faction-ridden Haryana unit of Congress is facing desertions of leaders, some of whom have joined the BJP camp since the last Lok Sabha polls.
