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Sources said that former Congress President Rahul Gandhi will again contest elections from Wayanad, Kerala.
He said that Rahul Gandhi’s name was approved in the first meeting of the Central Election Committee (CEC) of the Congress Party held at the party headquarters in the national capital on Thursday evening.
CEC member Rahul Gandhi also attended the meeting virtually from Gujarat. Rahul had won Wayanad in 2019 and by a record margin. However, he lost Amethi, the erstwhile Congress bastion in Uttar Pradesh, to BJP leader Smriti Irani.
The Communist Party of India (CPI), the second largest coalition partner in Kerala’s ruling Left Democratic Front, has fielded senior party leader Annie Raja from Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency.
Since the candidates from Amethi were not discussed, it is not clear whether Rahul will contest from Amethi again or whether Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will be fielded from Rae Bareli, both seats in UP.
Candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2024 will be decided in the meeting. Candidates from seven North Eastern states, Kerala, Telangana, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Delhi were discussed in the meeting.
Sources said that the name of Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor has also been approved. BJP has fielded Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar from this seat in Kerala.
Also Read: Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Shashi Tharoor vs Rajiv Chandrashekhar? Possibility of fierce election battle in Thiruvananthapuram
The committee, headed by party president Mallikarjun Kharge, includes former party chief Sonia Gandhi, AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, Ambika Soni, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and TS Singhdev, among others. Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy was also in New Delhi to attend the CEC meeting.
The party may declare its first list of candidates immediately after the CEC meeting so that the candidates can prepare for the election campaign.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has already released its first list of candidates which includes 195 names including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The Congress party is contesting the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as part of the Indian faction of opposition parties. BJP has set a target of 370+ seats for the party and 400+ seats for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the upcoming elections.
In 2019, Lok Sabha elections were held in seven phases from 11 April to 19 May. The results declared on May 23 showed a landslide victory for the BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with 303 seats in the 543-member House.
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Published: 07 March 2024, 10:03 PM IST
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