MP Polls: Congress Holds CEC Meeting, Kamal Nath Says Candidates To Be Finalised In A Week

The meeting was organised at former Congress president Sonia Gandhi's 10 Janpath Road residence in the national capital.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress MPs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are also attending the meeting.

The Congress on Saturday held a meeting of its Central Election Committee to finalise the list of the candidates for the poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, news agency PTI reported. The meeting was organised at former Congress president Sonia Gandhi's 10 Janpath Road residence in the national capital. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress MPs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are also attending the meeting.

VIDEO | Congress' Central Election Committee (CEC) meet underway to finalise candidates for Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections 2023.#MadhyaPradeshElection2023 pic.twitter.com/UIewdc6Vcl

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 7, 2023

After the Central Election Committee meeting of Congress to finalise candidates for Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections in Delhi, Former Madhya Pradesh CM and Congress State President Kamal Nath stated: "We have held discussions on several names. At present, no decision has been taken. The decision will be taken in the next 6-7 days. We have held a discussion on 130-140 seats...Another meeting will be called and the decision will be made."

#WATCH | Delhi: After the Central Election Committee meeting of Congress to finalise candidates for Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections in Delhi, Former Madhya Pradesh CM and Congress State President Kamal Nath says, "...We have held discussions on several names. At present, no… pic.twitter.com/IY5J0e7FCd

— ANI (@ANI) October 7, 2023

On October 3, the grand old party also met with its Madhya Pradesh screening committee to pick on candidates for the impending assembly elections later this year. 

The ruling BJP and Congress have stepped up their poll efforts ahead of the state's election. Both parties have mobilised its top leaders and campaign heavyweights, with PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah leading the BJP campaign and Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and other important politicians leading the Congress' efforts to gain voters' trust.

The BJP has already released two candidate lists for the Madhya Pradesh elections. Their second list includes numerous state-level BJP stalwarts, including Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, Prahlad Singh Patel, and Faggan Singh Kulaste.

The Congress is attempting to dethrone the BJP in Madhya Pradesh, with Rahul Gandhi and his sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the party's national general secretary, already conducting rallies in the state.

The elections, which are expected to take place between October and November of this year, will elect members from 230 Assembly seats. 

The Congress gained 114 seats in the 2018 assembly elections, compared to the BJP's 109 and the former established government under Kamal Nath.

However, the Kamal Nath administration fell in March 2020 following a mutiny by MLAs loyal to Jyotiraditya Scindia, opening the way for Shivraj Singh Chouhan to return as CM.