The eighth list contains Congress candidates from the states of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur and Maharashtra.
The Congress party released its eighth list of Lok Sabha candidates with 38 names late on Saturday night. The party has renominated its leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge from Gulbarga in Karnataka and former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan from Nanded.
The party also fielded its former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh from Bhopal Lok Sabha seat and former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat from Nainital constituency for the April-May parliamentary polls.
The eighth list contains party candidates from the states of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur and Maharashtra.
The Congress has so far announced the names of its 218 candidates for the election to the 543-member Lok Sabha which will be held in seven phases beginning on 11 April and ending on 19 May. The counting will take place on 23 May.
Here is the full list and major takeaways from the list of 38 Congress candidates:
1. Three former Chief Ministers
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In the list of 38 names of Congress candidates, there are three former Chief Ministers. Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat has been fielded from Nainital while former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan has been renominated from Nanded.
Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from Bhopal Parliamentary constituency.
2. Digvijaya Singh takes up the challenge
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Last week, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath had said that if Digvijaya Singh wishes to contest the Lok Sabha polls then he should opt for the state’s “toughest seat”. In the list of names announced on Saturday, Singh's name appears next to Bhopal, seat held by the BJP for the last three decades.
Singh is currently a Rajya Sabha member, and the Bhopal seat is currently held by BJP MP Alok Sanjar, who won in 2014 by over 3.70 lakh votes.
Last Congress leader to win this seat was KN Pradhan in 1984 when the party had swept the elections across the country following the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
3. BC Khanduri's son fielded from Garhwal
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Veteran BJP leader BC Khanduri's son, Manish Khanduri, has been named Congress candidate from Garhwal in its list of candidates for all the five Lok Sabha seats in Uttarakhand. The seat is currently held by his father, a five-time BJP MP and a former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.
Manish Khanduri had joined the Congress on March 16 at a rally in Dehradun in the presence of party president Rahul Gandhi.
4. Clash of heavyweights in Uttarakhand
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The Congress has declared candidates for all the five Lok Sabha seats in Uttarakhand. The party has fielded former chief minister Harish Rawat from Nainital and Manish Khanduri, from Garhwal.
It has fielded state Congress president Pritam Singh from Tehri Garhwal, Pradeep Tamta from Almora (SC) and Ambrish Kumar from Haridwar.
It will be a clash of heavyweights in Nainital with Harish Rawat taking on state BJP president Ajay Bhatt and Pritam Singh battling it out with sitting MP Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah in Tehri.
Though Harish Rawat had lost both the seats he had contested in the last assembly polls, he continues to be a seasoned and the most prominent Congress leader in the state, enjoying a connect with people at the grassroots.
Bhatt, on the other hand, is not only the state BJP president, but a former MLA from Ranikhet who was the Leader of Opposition in the assembly when Harish Rawat was chief minister. Bhatt had also lost his seat in the last assembly polls.
Tehri will also witness a tough battle for Pritam Singh who will be up against Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah. Singh is credited with winning the Chakrata seat despite his party faring poorly in the last assembly election.
Though a sitting MP from the Tehri royal family which has a strong political hold in the constituency, Shah faces the challenge of overcoming an anti-incumbency factor and taking on a strong opponent in Singh.
Pauri will witness an interesting battle with Manish Khanduri, son of former chief minister B C Khanduri, up against Tirath Singh Rawat, the BJP veteran's political disciple.
Both the candidates will try to cash in on the popularity of Khanduri, who had opted not to contest this time. Khanduri is the most formidable leader from the state with a strong support base in his constituency.
5. Other prominent candidates
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The Congress has fielded its leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge from Gulbarga. Former union ministers M Veerappa Moily and K M Muniyappa have been nominated as party candidates from Chikkballapur and Kollar Lok Sabha seats.
Meenakshi Natarajan, a close aide of Rahul Gandhi, has been fielded from Mandaur constituency in Madhya Pradesh, while former party spokesperson Rashid Alvi will contest from Amroha in Uttar Pradesh.
6. Full list
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Full list of Congress' 38 candidates
