30 April,2024 10:38 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
Raj Babbar. Pic/X
The Congress on Tuesday fielded actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar from the Gurgaon seat in Haryana for Lok Sabha elections 2024 and former Union minister Anand Sharma from Kangra in Himachal Pradesh, reported the PTI.
According to the PTI, Satpal Raizada, a former MLA from Himachal Pradesh's Una, has been fielded by the Congress from the Hamirpur Lok Sabha seat in the state and will contest the general elections against BJP candidate and Union Minister Anurag Thakur.
The Congress also fielded Bhushan Patil from the Mumbai North constituency in Maharashtra, as per the PTI.
This is the first Lok Sabha election that Sharma will be contesting. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha for the first time in April 1984 and has been a member of the Upper House of Parliament for four terms, the news agency reported.
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He has been a Union minister during the UPA government under Manmohan Singh and has also been a deputy leader of the Congress in the Rajya Sabha till he retired in 2022.
Suspense over Amethi, Rae Bareli seats continues as three days left for nominations
Meanwhile, suspense over the Amethi and Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seats mounted on Tuesday, even as three days remain for the filing of nominations for the two seats considered as traditional seats of the Gandhi-Nehru family, reported the PTI.
Amid speculation that Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra would be fielded from the two constituencies, the Congress workers in Amethi on Tuesday held a sit-in, demanding that the party names a member of the Gandhi family as its candidate from the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency, as per the PTI.
According to the PTI, sources said that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is keen to contest from the Rae Bareli seat and her candidature is likely to be announced soon, once the party leadership takes a final call on the seat.
Rahul Gandhi is yet to finalise his candidature on his second seat of Amethi and the leadership is likely to announce his name soon.
The state leadership in Uttar Pradesh has already urged the central election committee and the party leadership to field Rahul Gandhi from Amethi and Priyanka from Rae Bareli. The CEC members had also supported the view of the Uttar Pradesh Congress during the last meeting of the CEC on Saturday, the news agency reported on Tuesday.
Amethi Lok Sabha seat has been represented by Rahul Gandhi from 2004 and he remained the member of Parliament from the constituency for three consecutive terms till 2019 when he was defeated by BJP's Smriti Irani.
Rahul Gandhi currently represents the Wayanad constituency in Kerala, from where he had also contested in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
The Amethi and Rae Bareli constituencies go to polls on May 20 in the fifth round of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections 2024.
The Rae Bareli constituency was represented by Sonia Gandhi from 2004 to 2024. Prior to that Sonia Gandhi had represented the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency after she entered politics and contested for the first time in 1999.
(with PTI inputs)
