Lok Sabha Election: Shinde, Sriprakash Jaiswal, Milind Deora figure in second Congress list of 21 candidates

Second list of Congress includes heavyweights like former cabinet ministers Sushil Kumar Shinde and Sriprakash Jaiswal. It also includes film star Raj Babbar who will contest from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh.

Written by Krishnanand Tripathi

Updated: March 14, 2019 12:47 IST

CWC meeting Ahmedabad, CWC meeting in Gujarat

Congress Working Committee meeting on Gujarat is being organised after a gap of 58 years.

Congress party has released the second list with 16 names from Uttar Pradesh and 5 from Maharashtra. Congress candidates from Maharashtra include heavyweights like former union home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, who was also leader of Congress party in the Lok Sabha. It also includes former union minister Milind Deora and Priya Dutt, daughter of former Bollywood star Sunil Dutt.

While Mr Shinde will contest from Solapur (SC) seat, Milind Deora and Priya Dutt will contest from Mumbai South and Mumbai North-Central respectively.

In Uttar Pradesh, Congress has fielded former coal minister and Gandhi family loyalist Sriprakash Jaiswal from Kanpur, and former film star Raj Babbar from Moradabad.

Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh will fight from Sultanpur, and former BJP MP Savitri Fule who joined Congress recently, has been given ticket from Bahraich (SC) seat.

The second Congress list puts an end to the speculations about any possibility of Congress directly or indirectly joining the SP-BSP alliance in Uttar Pradesh in any significant manner. The grand old party has fielded 25 candidates against the candidates of two strong regional parties.

The first list of 15 candidates issued by the Congress party has 11 names from Uttar Pradesh and 4 from Gujarat. The release of just 11 names for Uttar Pradesh had led to speculation that the party may revive its talks with SP-BSP combine to work out some arrangement for a friendly contest in some seats. But the announcement of 16 more names from the state has taken the total number of Congress candidates in the state to 27, ending any speculation of friendly fight in a large number of seats in Uttar Pradesh.