Kamal Nath, Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot may make it to the second Congress list
New Delhi:
The sons of Congress veterans Ashok Gehlot and Kamal Nath may make it to the party’s second list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, according to sources. The Congress’s central election committee, tasked with finalising candidates, met yesterday and discussions were held on 62 constituencies across six states and Union Territories. These include Assam, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Daman and Diu.
Sources said the party’s choice for 50 of these seats has been finalised. Ashok Gehlot’s son Vaibhav, a member of the All India Congress Committee, may be fielded from Jalore, sources have said. Vaibhav Gehlot had contested the 2019 general election from Jodhpur, but lost to BJP heavyweight Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
Kamal Nath’s son Nakul may be repeated from the Chhindwara Lok Sabha seat in Madhya Pradesh, which he won in the 2019 polls, sources said. This comes after a buzz last month that Mr Nath may quit the Congress and join the BJP. The Congress veteran had then dismissed any such possibility and said it was just a rumour.
The prominent Congress leaders whose names were discussed are Mr Nath, Mr Gehlot, Sachin Pilot, Harish Rawat and Digvijaya Singh. Sources have also said many senior leaders from these states, which are currently ruled by the BJP, do not want to contest the polls.
The Congress on Friday released its first list of candidates for the general election. While Rahul Gandhi has been chosen for Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi, which he lost to Union Minister Smriti Irani last time, Shashi Tharoor has been repeated in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram, which he has been winning since 2009.
Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel will be contesting from Rajnandgaon and top Congress leader KC Venugopal from Kerala’s Alapuzzha.