Rahul Gandhi to contest from Wayanad: Congress names 39 candidates in first list for Lok Sabha polls

The party initially kept some names on hold, but later cleared a few of them, and they appear on the final list.

The Congress cleared the names of Challa Vamshi Reddy for Mahabubnagar in Telangana and KC Venugopal for Alappuzha.

The party kept on hold the names of Patnam Sunitha Reddy for Chevella in Telangana, and BN Chandrappa for Chitradurga (SC) and Dr Jayaprakash Hegde for Udupi-Chikmagalur — both in Karnataka.

Of the 39 candidates, 15 were from the general category, while 24 were from SCs, STs, BCs, and minorities.

Age-wise, 12 candidates are below 50 years, eight are between 50 and 60 years, 12 between 61 and 70 years, and seven from 71 to 76 years.

The AICC announces candidates for 39 #LokSabha seats in its first list.

The next list will be out after the CEC meeting on 11 March.

The names of Challa Vamsichand Reddy for Mahabubnagar and party general secretary KC Venugopal for Alphuzha have been cleared. Earlier in the… pic.twitter.com/oUvksu1UfK

— South First (@TheSouthfirst) March 8, 2024

Related: Congress’s poll body meets to finalise first list of candidates for LS polls

In Telangana

The list of names finalised includes four candidates from Telangana.

They include former MP Suresh Kumar Shetkar, who will be the Congress nominee for Zaheerabad.

He was elected as Zaheerabad Congress MP in 2009 and as Congress MLA from Narayankhed in the erstwhile AP Assembly in 2004.

Meanwhile, Patnam Sunitha Mahender Reddy, the chairperson of the Vikarabad Zilla Parishad and the wife of former BRS minister Patnam Mahender Reddy, was supposed to be the party’s candidate for Chevella. However, her name was missing from the final list.

Mahender Reddy, who is a BRS MLC, has a running feud with Tandur MLA and BRS leader Pilot Rohit Reddy.

BRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao, while renominating Rohit Reddy for Tandur in the recent Assembly election, made Mahender Reddy minister for information and public relations to placate him in the wake of reports that he was seriously considering quitting the BRS.

After the BRS lost power in the recent assembly elections, Mahender Reddy and his wife called on Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy when Sunitha joined the Congress after obtaining an assurance that she would be fielded from Chevella, of which the Tandur Assembly segment is a part.

The Chevella Lok Sabha seat is now held by the BRS’ Gaddam Ranjit Kumar, who apparently is not keen on seeking re-election — despite KCR renominating him — in view of the fast-changing political equations in the Lok Sabha constituency.

Senior Congress leader and former minister K Jana Reddy’s son Raghuveer Reddy will be the Congress nominee from Nalgonda.

The senior Congress leader had been lobbying for a Lok Sabha election ticket for his son for quite some time now. As he is a powerful leader of the party in the Nalgonda district, the Congress could not ignore his request.

Ahead of the recent Assembly elections, Revanth Reddy’s protege Patel Ramesh Reddy lobbied hard for the Suryapet Assembly seat, but the party persuaded him to withdraw from the contest as it wanted to allot the ticket to former minister R Damodar Reddy.

Patel Ramesh Reddy was at that time reportedly offered the Nalgonda Lok Sabha seat, but the ticket ultimately went to Raghuveer Reddy. It remains to be seen whether the party fields Ramesh Reddy from the neighbouring Bhongir Lok Sabha seat.

Former Union minister Balram Naik Porika will be the Congress face from Mahabubabad. He was taken as a minister of state in former prime minister Manmohan Singh’s Cabinet in 2012. He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 2009 from Mahabubabad on a Congress ticket.

Also Read: Cong manifesto to promise right to jobs, question paper-leak crackdown

In Kerala

The Congress has announced the names of candidates for 16 of the 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in Kerala.

The biggest surprise was the fielding of party strongman K Muraleedharan from Thrissur to take on the BJP’s high-profile candidate: Actor-turned-politician Suresh Gopi.

It may be noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended Suresh Gopi’s daughter’s wedding in person. It was seen as not only an endorsement for Gopi but also the BJP kick-starting its campaign — at least in Thrissur.

Youth Congress leader and Palakkad MLA Shafi Parambil will contest in Vatakara, vacated by Muraleedharan.

Despite his reluctance to contest, KPCC president K Sudhakaran has been directed to seek election from Kannur — a CPI(M) bastion.

Meanwhile, after he was announced as a candidate from Alappuzha, Venugopal said the Congress was determined to reduce the number of BJP seats in the state to the maximum extent possible.

He said the Congress was ready for any sacrifices, but sought reciprocation from the INDIA-bloc constituents.

He admitted that the party had some issues with the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, and was trying to resolve them.

Also Read: PM Modi’s intensified Kerala visits spark political fervour ahead of LS polls

In Karnataka

The Congress high command has announced the candidates for eight constituencies in Karnataka for the 2024 Lok Sabha Polls, while two have been put on hold.

The grand old party has announced tickets for the Vijayapura (reserved for Scheduled Castes), Shivamogga, Hassan, Tumakuru, Bengaluru Rural, and Mandya segments.

The party has put the names for the Udupi-Chikmagalur and Chitradurga (reserved for SC) segments on hold.

According to the list, Vijayapura District Congress Committee president and former MLA Raju Algur will be contesting from Vijayapura (SC).

Meanwhile, film producer Geetha Shivarajkumar, who is the elder sister of Minister for Education Madhu Bangarappa and wife of actor Shiva Rajkumar, has been fielded from Shivamogga.

Former minister Puttaswamy Gowda’s grandson M Shreyas Patel has been fielded from Hassan, former MP SP Muddahanumegowda from Tumakuru, and DK Suresh — the lone sitting Congress MP and brother of Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar — from Bengaluru Rural, as per the list.

The candidacy of Dr Jayaprakash Hegde, former chairman of Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes, from Udupi-Chikmagalur and KPCC working president BN Chandrappa from Chitradurga (SC) has been put on hold.

Also Read: Kharge’s son-in-law emerges as front-runner for Gulbarga seat

More considerations

On condition of anonymity, a senior Congress leader told South First: “Three names were shortlisted for each constituency and the list was submitted to the high command. The candidates were finalised after detailed deliberations.”

The leader added: “Mandya’s nominee Venkataramegowda is from Nagamangala. He is also a relative of Hosakote MLA Sharath Kumar Bache Gowda. Hassan’s candidate Shreyas Patel, who is the son of late former minister Puttaswamy Gowda, lost by a wafer-thin margin to JD(S) leader and former minister HD Revanna in the Holenarasipura Assembly seat. The party believes that he can turn the election in our favour on the home turf of the JD(S).

He also said: “Geetha Shivarajkumar previously contested unsuccessfully from the same seat. Considering the various factors, including family dominance in the region, they have fielded her.”

On putting some names on hold, the leader said: “Dr Jayprakash Hegde previously represented the Udupi-Chikmagalur seat. He can easily gross votes in Udupi and the party also has a consolidated vote base in Chikkamagaluru. Hence, the party chose to field him.

He, however, also noted: “The party will make an official announcement of Hegde’s candidature only after he joins the Congress. He is yet to join.”

The leader also said: “Chandrappa is a working president. He also previously represented the Chitradurga seat. His name will also be cleared.”

The next list is expected to be out after the Congress’ Central ELection Committee meeting, scheduled to be held on 11 March.