Lucknow. Congress has declared its candidates for nine Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. Their names were approved in the Central Election Committee meeting held in Delhi a day earlier. Ajay Rai will contest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Varanasi seat for the third consecutive time. This time Rai has contested the elections as the Congress state president.
Congress is contesting the elections along with SP under the opposition alliance INDIA and has got a total of 17 seats.
In the last Lok Sabha elections, SP candidate was also in the fray from Varanasi seat. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had got 6,74,664 votes. While Ajay Rai got 1,52,548 votes and SP candidate Shalini Yadav got 1,95,159 votes. Congress has not yet been able to take a final decision on the names of its candidates on eight seats including Amethi-Rae Bareli.
These are the candidates for nine seats
Among the nine seats for which candidates have been declared, Imran Masood, MP Kunwar Danish Ali and Sadal Prasad have joined Congress from other parties. Among the eight seats for which elections are to be held in the first phase, Saharanpur is the only seat which has come to Congress. In the second phase of elections, out of total eight seats, Congress has four seats, out of which only the name of the candidate for Amroha seat has been declared.
Congress has fielded Imran Masood from Saharanpur, Kunwar Danish Ali from Amroha, Ramnath Sikarwar from Fatehpur Sikri, Alok Mishra from Kanpur, former MP Pradeep Jain Aditya from Jhansi, former MLA Akhilesh Pratap Singh from Deoria, Tanuj Punia from Barabanki and former minister Sadal from Bansgaon. Prasad has been made the candidate. Imran Masood had earlier left Congress and joined SP and then BSP. Recently, Imran Masood had returned home to Congress.
Danish Ali made candidate
Apart from these, on March 20 itself, expelled BSP MP Kunwar Danish Ali had joined Congress. BJP MP Ramesh Vidhuri had made objectionable and unparliamentary remarks against Danish Ali in the House. After this incident, Rahul Gandhi went to Danish Ali’s house and extended his support to him. Later State President Ajay Rai also reached his house.
Congress was certain to make Danish its candidate from Amroha seat. Apart from Saharanpur and Amroha, Bansgaon is the third seat which has gone to a leader from another party. Congress did not contest the Bansgaon seat in the last Lok Sabha elections. Congress has made Sadal Prasad, who left BSP this month, its candidate from Bansgaon seat, who stood second on this seat in the last elections.
Apart from these, senior leader Alok Mishra will be in the election fray from Kanpur. Congress has maintained confidence in Apne on Deoria and Jhansi seats. Former MLA from Deoria Akhilesh Pratap Singh and former MP from Jhansi Pradeep Jain Aditya are in the fray.
Hope raised on Barabanki seat
Tanuj Punia, son of former MP PL Punia, is contesting from Barabanki seat for the second time. He stood third in the last Lok Sabha elections. Whereas the SP candidate was at second position. This time Congress is hopeful of an alliance with SP on Barabanki seat.
Names yet to come on these seats
The eight seats where Congress has not yet decided the names of its candidates include Amethi, Rae Bareli, Bulandshahr, Ghaziabad, Sitapur, Allahabad, Mathura and Maharajganj.