The `formula' includes giving adequate tickets to freshers, women, Dalits and backward communities and checking the credentials of applicants, as had been done in Madhya Pradesh.

The formula proved successful in the past. The party retained power when 69 sitting members of the Legislative Assembly including 13 ministers were denied tickets, Chennithala told a press conference today. ``There will be a similar set of norms for ticket seekers in Maharashtra and their credentials will be subject to strict scrutiny, including corruption, criminal cases and votes polled from an Assembly segment during the Lok Sabha elections'', he said. The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress committee (MPCC) is holding a meeting of district presidents on March 10 to chalk out thestrategy for the Assembly polls, he said. All frontal organisations like the Youth Congress, Sewa Dal and women's wing would be involved in drawing an action plan to fight the next elections, he added.

In an attack on the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party Government in Maharashtra, Chennithala said, ``Having a Chief Minister with a criminal background speaks volumes for the credibility of the government.''