Gehlot Jr, Nakul Nath in Congress 2nd list for LS polls | India News

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NEW DELHI: Resolving the post-delimitation conundrum in Assam, Congress fielded sitting MP Gaurav Gogoi from Jorhat and retained Pradyot Bordoloi in Nagaon in Assam, as per its second list of 43 candidates for the 2024 elections announced Tuesday. It had named 39 candidates last week.
Gogoi’s Kaliabor seat was disbanded after redrawing of maps, and he was seeking either Nagaon or Jorhat, while Bordoloi was wary of shifting elsewhere. The two MPs are Congress’s big hopes in Assam where poll battles have tilted towards BJP after 2014.

Former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot’s son Vaibhav Gehlot will contest from Jalore, while Nakul Nath, son of former MP CM Kamal Nath, will defend Chhindwara. Vaibhav lost from Jodhpur in 2019. Rahul Kaswan, BJP MP who joined Congress on Monday, will fight from Churu (Rajasthan).

Congress again focused on SC/ST/OBC/minority faces (33 out of 43), as it declared 12 of 14 seats in Assam, 10 each in MP and Rajasthan, seven in Gujarat, three in Uttarakhand and one in Daman and Diu. Congress’ K C Venugopal and Ajay Maken said, “The 2024 election is poor versus rich. The guarantees we’ve announced show we are trying to address issues of farmers, youth, tribals, dalits and women.”
In Rajasthan, Congress has fielded MLAs Brijendra Ola and Lalit Yadav from Jhunjhunu and Alwar, respectively, while Ganesh Godiyal (Pauri) and Pradeep Tamta (Almora) are among three candidates named from Uttarakhand. Ketan Patel will contest from Daman.

In Assam, the party has dropped MP Abdul Khaleque from Barpeta, replacing him with Deep Bayan. Sources said Khaleque had after delimitation staked claim to Dhubri, but the party preferred its senior MLA and deputy leader in assembly Rakibul Hussain to take on AUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal. Some feel that denial of ticket to Khaleque whose areas of influence now fall in Dhubri could hurt Congress because of intra-minority community equations.

However, Congress’s choice of resourceful and experienced candidate from Dhubri appears an attempt to dispel the notion of any understanding with the regional party, identified with minorities. A perception of tie-up with AUDF plays into hands of BJP’s campaign to polarise Hindu voters.
After keeping away from it during Tarun Gogoi’s three-term reign, Congress joined hands with Ajmal’s outfit in 2021 assembly polls, but immediately snapped ties after BJP returned to power. The signal of strongly confronting AUDF is aimed at reclaiming its old position with state electorate, though the task appears uphill.