The Congress party unveiled its seventh list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on Tuesday, featuring contenders from Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu. The Chhattisgarh roster includes an MLA under the Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation and two women. This completes the party's list for all 11 Lok Sabha seats in the state, scheduled to vote in three phases in April-May. The four Congress candidates are Devender Singh Yadav for Bilaspur, Biresh Thakur for Kanker (Scheduled Tribe reserved), Shashi Singh for Surguja (ST), and Dr. Menka Devi Singh for Raigarh (ST).


Yadav, a second-term legislator, hails from Bhilai Nagar and is under ED investigation in the alleged coal levy scam, news agency PTI reported. Thakur, who previously contested unsuccessfully in 2019 from Kanker, is the son of late Congress MLA Satyanarayan Singh Thakur. Shashi Singh is a member of the Surajpur Zila Panchayat and comes from a political family, with her father serving as a minister in the past, as per PTI.


Menka Devi Singh belongs to the Sarangarh royal family, with her father having served as chief minister of undivided Madhya Pradesh, and her sisters having held Congress Lok Sabha MP positions in the past.


Among the 11 Congress candidates, three are women, including a sitting MP. The Lok Sabha polls in Chhattisgarh will be conducted in three phases on April 19, April 26, and May 7, with votes counted on June 4. Naxal-hit Bastar (Scheduled Tribe) constituency will have polling on April 19, with the filing of nominations starting on March 20. The Kanker (ST), Rajnandgaon, and Mahasamund constituencies will vote on April 26 in the second phase, while the remaining seven constituencies will vote on May 7.


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Lok Sabha Election 2024: Congress Reveals Candidate For Tamil Nadu's Mayiladuthurai 


The Congress also fielded R Sudha from Tamil Nadu's Mayiladuthurai constituency. The Mayiladuthurai constituency was with the grand old party's ally DMK in the last General elections. Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar has represented this constituency thrice before. 






With this announcement, the Congress party has declared a total of 195 candidates for the seven-phase Lok Sabha polls set to commence on April 19.


Lok Sabha Election 2024: Congress Places Prahlad Gunjal Against Om Birla From Kota


On Monday, the Congress had released its sixth list of candidates, featuring five contenders for various constituencies. Notably, Prahlad Gunjal was named as the candidate from Kota, challenging outgoing Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. The party also announced Ramchandra Choudhary for Ajmer, Sudarshan Rawat for Rajsamand, Damodar Gurjar for Bhilwara, and C Robert Bruce for Tirunelveli.


Prahlad Gunjal's entry into the Congress fold is considered significant, particularly in the Kota region. A close associate of former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, Gunjal brings considerable experience to the political arena. He previously served as the MLA from Kota North, enhancing the Congress's prospects in the Hadoti region.


The Lok Sabha elections, scheduled in seven phases, will commence on April 19 and culminate on May 23, with results expected to be announced on June 4.


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