The Congress party on Friday declared its first list of 39 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. These candidates, spanning eight states and one Union Territory, include 15 from the general category while 24 belong to the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.

Rahul Gandhi to contest from Wayanad

Former Party President Rahul Gandhi will be contesting the election from Kerala’s Wayanad for the second time, while KC Venugopal, the party’s general secretary, has been nominated to contest from Alappuzha.

Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel will be contesting from Rajnandgaon, while sitting MP Shashi Tharoor will contest from Thiruvananthapuram. Jyotsna Mahant has been fielded from Korba and Tamradhwaj Sahu from Mahasamund.

Commenting on the list, Congress treasurer Ajay Maken called it a good mix of youth and experience. This announcement follows the finalising of the names for the upcoming elections by Congress’ Central Election Committee (CEC) after holding discussions on over 60 Lok Sabha seats from 11 states and union territories. Party president Mallikarjun Kharge had chaired the CEC meeting.

Deliberations took place regarding Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Sikkim, Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, and Lakshadweep. Kharge, former party president Sonia Gandhi, Venugopal, along with other senior leaders who are members of the CEC, attended the meeting.

“We are in election mode and on an aggressive path of campaigning with Rahul Gandhi undertaking the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra which is in Gujarat,” Venugopal said.

Speculation is rife that Rahul Gandhi might additionally contest from Amethi, while Priyanka Gandhi Vadra could bat from Rae Bareli, a constituency formerly held by Sonia Gandhi.

(With PTI inputs)