New Delhi: Congress on October 27 began the process of finalising its candidates for the forthcoming Assembly polls in five states with its Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting in New Delhi on October 27.

During the three-day exercise, presided over by party chief Sonia Gandhi, the lists of party candidates for Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhatisgarh, Delhi and Mizoram, which have been forwarded by the screening committees of the states, would be scrutinised, party sources said.

Gandhi had appointed separate committees, headed by senior party leaders, for the states going to polls to screen the lists before these are forwarded to the Central Election Committee for finalising.

Manmohan Singh heads the committee for Rajasthan, Moti Lal Vora and Pranab Mukherjee for Delhi and Chhatisgarh respectively, G Venkataswami for Madhya Pradesh. Congress is in power in the four states.

The sources said the CEC would take up Madhya Pradesh first to finalise candidates for 230-member Assembly. Rajasthan would be taken up on October 28 and Chhatisgarh on October 29.

PTI