Madhusudan Mistry to head Cong screening panel for Haryana polls

The Congress on Saturday formed a six-member screening committee for Haryana assembly elections, with senior party leader Madhusudan Mistry as its chairman.

Other members of the panel appointed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi include Haryana Congress chief Kumari Selja, Congress legislative party leader and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and AICC general secretary state in-charge Ghulam Nabi Azad.

READ: Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar Strategizes "Mission 75" Ahead Of Assembly Polls In The State. Here's What It Is

Congress leaders Deepa Dasmunsi and Devender Yadav have also been made members of the panel. Assembly elections in the state are slated for later this year and the Congress is seeking to wrest back power from the BJP.

The appointments come abut 10 days after the Congress named Selja chief of its Haryana unit and appointed Hooda chairperson of the election management committee.The election committee, with Selja as chairperson, will have 28 other members. They include Hooda, Tanwar, Surjewala, Chaudhary, Kuldeep Bishnoi, HS Chatha, Ajay Singh Yadav, Phool Chand Mullana, Kuldeep Sharma, Deepinder Hooda, Karan Singh Dalal, Savitri Jindal.

READ: Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar Condemns And Acts As Shocking Video Of Elderly Woman Being Thrashed By Daughter-in-law Surfaces, Updates That 'accused Has Been Arrest'

Here is the list of of the members comprising the screening committee along with their designations.

WATCH: 'We Have Never Disrespected Anyone,' Says Haryana Sports Minister Anil Vij Defending State Government Amid Backlash From Wrestlers Over Reduction In Prize Money

Sonia Gandhi had also appointed Hooda as Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader, and by virtue of that, leader of opposition in the state Assembly.

In the 2014 Assembly polls, the BJP won 47 seats and went on to form its government. The Congress could only win 15 seats in the 90-member Assembly. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) had 19 legislators. Since then, the INLD has split into two factions. Haryana, which has a 90-member Assembly, is scheduled to go to polls in October this year.

READ: Karnataka Crisis: 5 More Congress MLAs Move Supreme Court Against Speaker Not Accepting Their Resignations Even As Cong Attempts Backchannel Negotiations