Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi is set to contest from Kerala’s Wayanad constituency once again in the coming Lok Sabha polls, informed sources.
The Congress scion’s candidature received the green light during the first meeting of the party’s Central Election Committee (CEC) in the national capital on Thursday evening.
Rahul Gandhi, a member of the CEC, participated in the meeting virtually from Gujarat. In the 2019 elections, Rahul secured a significant victory in Wayanad, but faced defeat in Amethi, the traditional Congress stronghold in Uttar Pradesh, to BJP leader Smriti Irani.
According to sources, the name of senior party leader and MP Shashi Tharoor was also approved for Thiruvananthapuram. The BJP has nominated Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar as its candidate for the seat in Kerala. There is also a possibility of K. C. Venugopal contesting in the upcoming polls.
The sources added that the top leadership of the party during its CEC meeting conveyed a strong message, emphasising that prominent figures must participate in the Lok Sabha elections.
During Thursday’s meeting, the panel discussed candidates from Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Telangana, Lakshadweep, Kerala, Meghalaya, Tripura, Sikkim, and Manipur. The Congress, however, has not released any official candidate list as of now.
The source mentioned that the list is expected to be released today.
The Congress party organised the CEC meeting to finalise candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Present at the meeting were Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Sonia Gandhi, AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, TS Singhdeo, and others. Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy was also in New Delhi to participate in the meeting.
Last week, the BJP released its first list of 195 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections. Among the declared seats, 51 are from Uttar Pradesh, 20 from West Bengal, and five from Delhi. The list includes 28 women leaders and 47 candidates under the age of 50.
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