The Central Election Committee (CEC) of the Congress Party concluded its deliberations by officially selecting 40 candidates for the imminent Lok Sabha elections. Among the finalized candidates is Rahul Gandhi, who will be contesting from the Wayanad constituency in Kerala, according to sources familiar with the matter. The meeting, presided over by party president Mallikarjun Kharge, addressed a total of 60 Lok Sabha seats across 11 states and union territories during its discussions.
Deliberations during the Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting encompassed Lok Sabha seats across various regions, including Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Sikkim, Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, and Lakshadweep.
Congress’ legislature party leader V D Satheesan said the party will contest 16 seats in Kerala and four will be contested by its allies in the state. The CEC has taken a decision as to who are the candidates on the 16 seats. The AICC will announce the names of the candidates tomorrow, Satheesan said. Rahul Gandhi will seek re-election from Kerala’s Wayanad seat, according to the sources.
Deepak Babaria, the AICC in-charge for Delhi, stated that there was a preliminary discussion regarding the candidates for Delhi. In this context, it's noteworthy that the party is vying for three seats, while its ally, the AAP (part of the INDIA bloc), is contesting the remaining four seats.
He said a discussion on Delhi seats will be held again on March 11. While former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel would be fielded from Rajnandgaon, former minister Tamradhwaj Sahu is set to fight the elections from the state’s Mahasamund seat. Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal is also among the finalised candidates, the sources said.
As of now, the Congress has not yet announced any candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. In contrast, the BJP unveiled its initial list comprising 195 candidates last week.
Sources within the Congress have indicated that the party is likely to release its first list of candidates shortly, aiming to kickstart the campaigning process for its nominees.
Speculations suggest that Rahul Gandhi might contest from Amethi, while Priyanka Gandhi Vadra could contest from Rae Bareli, a constituency formerly held by Sonia Gandhi. Both Amethi and Rae Bareli are considered strongholds of the Gandhi family, and local Congress units have expressed their desire for the scions of the Congress's first family to contest from these constituencies.