NEW DELHI: The Congress will hold a second meeting of the Central Election Committee (CEC) on Monday to decide candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
On Sunday, speaking on the sidelines of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra event in Gujarat, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the party will release its second list in the evening after the meeting. “The second meeting of the CEC will take place on Monday at 6 pm. The second list of candidates will be announced after the meeting,” he said.
According to sources, the CEC is expected to decide the seats in Delhi, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Assam. The names for Uttar Pradesh may also come up for discussion, said a source.
Congress released its first list of 39 candidates on Friday, which included party bigwigs such as Rahul Gandhi, former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal, and MP Shashi Tharoor. Of the 39 candidates, 15 were from Kerala, seven from Karnataka, six from Chhattisgarh, four from Telangana, two from Meghalaya and one each from Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim and Lakshadweep.
As the suspense over Rahul Gandhi contesting from Amethi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra making her electoral debut from Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seats continues, the Uttar Pradesh Congress Pradesh Election Committee on Sunday unanimously adopted a resolution to field the Gandhi siblings from these seats.
With the party fielding several senior leaders in the first list, sources said that more senior leaders are likely to be figured in the next round.
From Haryana, former CM Bhupinder Hooda, and his son and Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Hooda may be recommended, said a leader. Another leader said that the high command has also asked former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot to contest in the Lok Sabha polls. The reasoning has been to ramp up the tally of the party in the Lower House.