Congress Releases Another Poll List for Lok Sabha Elections 2024, No Decision On Amethi, Raebareli

The party has announced its candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. In Maharashtra, the vice president of the Mumbai unit will be contesting against Union Minister Piyush Goyal. In Haryana, actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar will be standing for the Gurgaon constituency, while former Union Minister Anand Sharma will contest from the Kangra constituency in Himachal Pradesh. For the Kangra constituency, Mr. Sharma will be up against the BJP’s Rajeev Bhardwaj, while in Gurgaon, Mr. Babbar will be competing against BJP veteran and Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh.

Former MLA Satpal Raizada has been fielded from the Hamirpur constituency in Himachal Pradesh, where he will face Union Minister Anurag Thakur, who has held the seat four times. The party has also revealed the names of nine candidates it is fielding from Haryana, while the tenth Lok Sabha seat in the state is being contested by its ally, the Aam Aadmi Party. Despite the announcement of candidates for some notable constituencies, the list has generated attention for who was not included. There has been speculation about the Congress’s candidate selections for Raebareli and Amethi, with no decision made yet.

The last date for filing nominations for both seats is Friday, May 3, and the Congress has been the subject of rumors about fielding its former president Rahul Gandhi from Amethi again, as well as potentially nominating Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for Raebareli. The Congress has seen anticipation for its candidate announcements in Raebareli and Amethi. There have been protests in Amethi demanding that a candidate be declared from the “Gandhi parivar (family)”. The decision on these seats seems to have been postponed for now, with the last date for filing nominations being Friday, May 3.

Speculation suggests that Rahul Gandhi may contest from both Amethi and Kerala’s Wayanad, similar to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. For Raebareli, the name of Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been circulating, which could energize party workers, especially as Raebareli was the only seat the Congress won in Uttar Pradesh in 2019.