Lok Sabha polls: Congress likely to release first list of candidates today

Rahul Gandhi is expected to contest from Wayanad while Priyanka from Rae Bareli

CNN Central News & Network–ITDC India Epress/ITDC News Bhopal: Congress's first list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections is likely to see Rahul Gandhi contesting from Wayanad in Kerala again despite opposition from INDIA bloc ally CPI(M), and Amethi, while Priyanka Gandhi Vadra may contest from Rae Bareli, reports said.

The party's Central Election Committee (CEC) met late on Thursday, and has, reportedly, finalised the names of 40 candidates. A total of 60 Lok Sabha seats from 11 states and Union Territories were discussed at the CEC meeting, which was chaired by party president Mallikarjun Kharge. Former party chief Sonia Gandhi and general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal, were present at the meeting, along with other senior leaders.

Rahul Gandhi, who is leading the party's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Jaipur, was supposed to join the meeting virtually but eventually decided against it. He was previously an MP from Amethi, but lost the seat in 2019. However, he won from Wayanad.

Sonia Gandhi had vacated the Rae Bareli seat to contest Rajya Sabha polls. It will be the political debut for Priyanka if she decides to contest from Rae Bareli.

Discussions were held on Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Sikkim, Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya and Lakshwadeep.

In Kerala, V.D. Satheesan said the Congress will contest 16 seats in Kerala and four will be contested by its allies in the state. Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Shashi Tharoor, is likely to contest from the seat again.

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. Venugopal is also among the finalised candidates, reports said.

Former Chhattisgarh deputy chief minister T.S. Singhdeo would not be contesting the polls, it is learnt.

AICC in-charge Delhi Deepak Babaria said a preliminary discussion took place for Delhi candidates, where the party is contesting three seats while its INDIA bloc ally AAP is contesting the remaining four. He said a discussion on Delhi seats will be held again on March 11.