Congress first candidate list for LS polls: Rahul from Wayanad, Tharoor Thiruvananthapuram

Congress party on Friday released its first list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Rahul Gandhi, former Chhatisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel and Shashi Tharoor are among the 39 candidates named on the list.

While Rahul will be contesting from Kerala’s Wayanad again, Baghel has been fielded from Rajnandgaon seat and Tharoor from Thiruvananthapuram.

Of the 39 candidates, 24 are from the SC and ST community, and 15 are from the general category.

Notably, Priyanka Gandhi's name is missing from the first list.

Meanwhile, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal will contest from Alappuzha (Kerala), Jyotsna Mahant from Korba, and Tamradhwaj Sahu from Mahasamund.

Venugopal said the list has 15 general category candidates while 24 are from the SC, ST, OBC and minority communities.

Congress treasurer Ajay Maken said the list has a good mix of youth and experience.

The announcement came a day after the Congress' Central Election Committee (CEC) finalised the names for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections after having a discussion on over 60 Lok Sabha seats from 11 states and union territories.

The CEC meeting which was chaired by party president Mallikarjun Kharge.

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

"We are in election mode and on an aggressive path of campaigning with Rahul Gandhi undertaking the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra which is in Gujarat," Venugopal said.

The Nyay Yatra will end on March 17 in Mumbai with a mammoth rally planned and Congress president Kharge is writing to all INDIA bloc partners to attend that rally, he said.

Kharge, former party chief Sonia Gandhi and Venugopal, as well as other senior leaders who are part of the CEC were present at the meeting.

There is speculation that Rahul Gandhi may also contest from Amethi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra from Rae Bareli, a seat which was previously held by Sonia Gandhi. Both the seats are considered bastions of the Gandhi family and the local units of the Congress have demanded that the two scions of the Congress first family should contest from there.

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