Congress Announces 5 Candidates For Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu In Lok Sabha Elections

The Congress party on Tuesday announced five additional candidates for the Lok Sabha elections 2024, including four from Chhattisgarh and one from Tamil Nadu.

In Tamil Nadu, R Sudha has been named as the candidate for the Mayiladuthurai Lok Sabha constituency, which was previously held by the DMK. Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar has previously served as an MP from this constituency three times.

In Chhattisgarh, the Congress has decided to field Shashi Singh from Surguja, Menaka Devi Singh from Raigarh, Devender Singh Yadav from Bilaspur, and Biresh Thakur from Kanker. Surguja, Raigarh, and Kanker are reserved seats for the Scheduled Tribes (ST) in the tribal-dominated state.

With these announcements, the Congress has now named candidates for all 11 Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh. The state will vote in three phases on April 19, April 26, and May 7, with vote counting on June 4.

Earlier this month, the Congress had released its first list for Chhattisgarh, which included former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel as the candidate from Rajnandgaon, along with two former state ministers and a sitting MP.

In another development, sitting MLA Kawasi Lakhma was named as the Congress candidate for the Naxal-affected Bastar (ST) seat, which will go to polls in the first phase on April 19. The party decided not to field sitting MP Deepak Baij from Bastar, who is also the president of the Pradesh Congress Committee.

Kanker (ST), Rajnandgaon, and Mahasamund will go to polls on April 26 in the second phase, while the remaining seven Lok Sabha seats - Surguja (ST), Raigarh (ST), Janjgir-Champa (SC), Raipur, Durg, Korba, and Bilaspur - will witness polling on May 7.

The BJP has already announced its candidates for all 11 Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh.