The names of 45 candidates have been launched.

New Delhi:

With lower than a month to go for the primary part of the Lok Sabha elections, the Congress launched its fourth record of 45 candidates on Saturday. Some of the large names on the record are former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh, Karti Chidambaram and Danish Ali, who joined the get together on Wednesday, however it is usually notable for its omissions.

Congress’ Uttar Pradesh President Ajay Rai will contest in opposition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi for the third straight time. Despite naming candidates from Uttar Pradesh for the primary time, nevertheless, the get together has saved the suspense happening the all-important Amethi and Rae Bareli seats. 

The two constituencies have been Congress bastions, barring Rahul Gandhi’s shock defeat to BJP’s Smriti Irani from Amethi in 2019. While Mr Gandhi is prone to contest from Amethi once more, along with Kerala’s Wayanad, all eyes are on the Rae Bareli seat, from the place his sister and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is anticipated to make her political debut. 

The seat was vacated by former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who has received it 5 straight occasions. Mrs Gandhi is now a member of the Rajya Sabha. As a part of its seat-sharing association with the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress is contesting 17 out of 80 seats and has now named candidates for 9. 

कांग्रेस अध्यक्ष श्री @kharge की अध्यक्षता में आयोजित ‘केंद्रीय चुनाव समिति’ की बैठक में लोकसभा चुनाव, 2024 के लिए 46 सीटों पर कांग्रेस उम्मीदवारों के नाम की चौथी लिस्ट। pic.twitter.com/JnroTFK21c

— Congress (@INCIndia) March 23, 2024

Digvijaya Singh, a Rajya Sabha MP, has been fielded from his former Lok Sabha constituency of Rajgarh in Madhya Pradesh. Mr Singh had final received a common election from the identical constituency in 1991 and his comeback try is anticipated to be an uphill battle because the Congress had received solely one of many state’s 29 seats in 2019. The senior chief had fought in opposition to Pragya Thakur of the BJP from Bhopal that 12 months, and misplaced by a margin of over 3.5 lakh votes.

Karti Chidambaram has been nominated from the Sivaganga constituency in Tamil Nadu, which he had received in 2019 and misplaced in 2014. The seat has been a stronghold of the Chidambaram household and Karti’s father and senior Congress chief P Chidambaram held it – barring one time period – since 1984.   

Former BSP chief Danish Ali, who represented the Mayawati-led get together within the Lok Sabha from Amroha, has been nominated from the identical seat by the Congress. The nomination has come simply three days after he joined the get together. Mr Ali, who was the goal of alleged communal slurs in Parliament from BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri in September final 12 months, was suspended by the BSP in December after he spoke in help of Trinamool Congress chief Mahua Moitra. 

Some of the opposite notable names on the record are former Union minister Kantilal Bhuria, who will contest from Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh; Virender Rawat – son of former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat – from Haridwar; and Manickam Tagore from Virudhunagar in Tamil Nadu. 

While the Congress has launched a listing of 46 constituencies, it has named candidates solely on 45. The fourth record now takes the entire variety of candidates introduced by the get together to 183.