Congress U.P. chief Ajay Rai to take on PM Modi in Varanasi

So far, the Congress has named 183 candidates including the fourth list but one candidate from Gujarat dropped out and quit the party.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with the party’s Uttar Pradesh unit president Ajay Rai (left) during the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Varanasi on February 18, 2024. The Congress has fielded Mr. Rai against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi. | Photo Credit: ANI

The Congress on Saturday announced 45 names in its fourth list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls while one seat for the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) in Rajasthan.

Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh will contest the Rajgarh seat in the State while Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai has been fielded from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s seat of Varanasi.

Chhattisgarh Congress chief and sitting member from Bastar, Deepak Baij, has been dropped as the party named Kawasi Lakhma from the seat.

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As reported by The Hindu earlier, sitting members from Tamil Nadu have been repeated, with Karti Chidambaram, Manickam Tagore, S Jothimani, Vijay Vasanth retaining their seats. Among the changes, K. Gopinath has been fielded from the Krishnagiri seat, Saikanth Senthi from Tiruvallur and M.K. Vishnu Prasad from Cuddalore.

In Uttar Pradesh, Danish Ali, who switched from the Bahujan Samaj Party recently, has been repeated from his present seat of Amroha while Chowdhary Lal Singh, who merged his Dogra Swabhiman Sangarhan Party, also got a ticket the Udhampur Loksabha constituency in Jammu and Kashmir.

Among the sons of senior leaders getting ticket, former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat’s son, Virender Rawat, has been fielded from Haridwar and P.L. Punia’s son, Tanuj Punia, has been given the Barabanki seat in U.P.

The fourth list had names from 12 States and one union territory, reflecting a mix of incumbent MPs being repeated, new entrants being accommodated and children of Congress leaders being given tickets.

There was also a clear effort by the Congress in Rajasthan to break its previous record (2019 Lok Sabha polls) of failing to open its account. After leaving the Sikar Lok Sabha seat to CPI(M), it has now left Nagaur seat for Jat leader Hanuman Beniwal’s RLP.

So far, the Congress has named 183 candidates including the fourth list but one candidate from Gujarat dropped out and quit the party.