However, there's more delay on the way, as this list has only 112 candidates and the second list not expected to be finalised till August 19. That's when the AICC screening committee for the State will meet next in New Delhi, said Kalmadi. Filing nominations for the first phase of election for 144 seats to be held on September 5 ends tomorrow.

Typically though, Kalmadi made short work of the delay, repeatedly asserting that it would turn to the party's advantage. ``We did it entirely by design. We want to go slow and steady, unlike the BJP, whose campaign seems to have peaked already. Delaying our lists helped us select candidates on purely elective merit, since we hadthe lists of other parties in front of us,'' he told The Indian Express.

As many as 26 MLAs in the dissolved House have been re-nominated for the election, while two MLCs -- Vasudha Deshmukh (Achalpur) and Mohd Azhar Husain Khan (Akola) -- have been chosen to fight the Assembly polls. Notable candidates are former chief minister Shivajirao Patil-Nilangekar (Nilanga), former ministers Vilasrao Deshmukh (Latur) and Surupsinh Naik (Navapur), party veteran Anandrao Devkate (Solapur south). Congress leader and former union home minister S B Chavan's son Ashok has secured nomination from Mudkhed, while son-in-law Gangadhar Kunturkar will fight from Biloli.

The party has taken note of the BJP-NDA manifesto with Constitutional amendments for a fixed Lok Sabha term and to debar a person born abroad from occupying highest offices, he said. ``It shows they are very worried about the responses that Sonia Gandhi is getting all over. They are doing all this to keep one woman out and to secure their own survivalin power,'' remarked Kalmadi, ``The BJP-led government has built-in instability and they need such amendments to protect themselves.''

``Kargil'' will the Congress' main election plank and the party has decided to be very aggressive on this, while simultaneously going for the ``stability'' issue, he said. Kalmadi claimed that the alliance and seat-sharing discussions with the RPI had proceeded ``very smoothly'' and it was decided to allot some 50 Assembly and 6 or 7 Lok Sabha seats to them, irrespective of the number of factions. ``In fact, now Ramdas Athawale, who went with the NCP, has decided to support the Congress if it comes to voting for the PM. So the RPI is really with us, only Athawale went to Pawar out of affection.''

NCP announces candidates

Shiv Sena rebel and former minister in the alliance Government, Ganesh Naik, will fight from the Belapur Assembly constituency on the NCP symbol, but not as its candidate. He will be supported by the party.

With this and five other namesdeclared today, the NCP has announced candidates for 191 of the 288 Assembly seats. Many of the remaining are still being discussed with the allies, Ramdas Athawale's Republican Party of India, Samajwadi Party and possibly Janata Dal.

NCP's Gurunath Kulkarni came down heavily on Congress leader Murli Deora for his statement that the NCP was helping the Shiv Sena-BJP by splitting the secular vote. ``Since when has Murli Deora become secular? He became Mumbai's mayor with the blessings of Bal Thackeray. Not only that, he has never once spoken against the Sena or Thackeray in the last four-and-half years of this alliance Government, whereas our leaders have been constantly taking on the Sena in the Assembly and on the streets,'' he said.