A Rajasthan Congress Pradesh Election Committee (PEC) decision to put an age bar of 70 years on candidates vying for tickets in the upcoming Assembly polls, has younger and greener Congress leaders jubilant while leaving senior state leaders in a tizzy. While the decision — one among other radical criteria for the polls — which senior state leaders claim came straight from Rahul Gandhi, has come as a severe blow to several partymen here, most Congress decision-makers claim that this step has been taken to rectify what went wrong in the 2003 Assembly elections, leading to the defeat of the party. Now, claims the Congress, the primary criterion for selection is how “winnable” a candidate is.

Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president C P Joshi made an announcement to this effect at a PEC meeting in Jaipur on Tuesday. “The move is directed at giving younger, upcoming leaders a chance. While the 70-plus leaders will have problems, we believe this will serve for the overall good of the party in the state,” Joshi said. He added that this was the first time such a decision had been made in the state.

Senior leaders in the state who are around 70 years of age include former chief minister Jagannath Pahadia, former deputy CM Kamala Devi, former PCC president Narayan Singh and former finance minister Pradyumna Singh.

Pahadia, who is also a former governor of Bihar and a former Central Government minister, recalls the time when he was given his first ticket. “It was 1957 and I was 25 years old. Even that time an older leader had to make way for me, so how can I reject such a rule now?” he asked. He added that such criteria were in the interest of the party, which is above and beyond the wishes of individuals. “We have to accommodate younger leaders for the future of the party,” Pahadia said.

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