Congress announces candidates for Assam and Madhya Pradesh bypolls

Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal announced the list of candidates for the bypolls in Assam and Madhya Pradesh.

The Congress party on Sunday (October 20, 2024) announced its candidates for the two Assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh and four in Assam that are scheduled for bypolls next month.

In Madhya Pradesh, the party is fielding Mukesh Malhotra from Vijaypur, and former MLA Raj Kumar Patel from Budhni. The contest on the two seats is now clear as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has already announced its candidates. Mr. Patel will face former BJP MP Ramakant Bhargava, while Mr. Malhotra will be up against State Cabinet Minister Ramniwas Rawat. 

The bypoll in Vijaypur was necessitated after Mr. Rawat, a six-term MLA, quit the Congress to join the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha election this year, and gave up his legislative membership after becoming a Minister in July. 

The Budhni seat was vacated by former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was elected an MP from Vidisha and was made a Minister in the Union Cabinet.

Mr. Patel had won from Budhni in 1993 and had also served as a Minister in the Congress government led by former CM Digvijaya Singh.

Mr. Malhotra had contested the 2023 Assembly election from Vijaypur as an independent candidate and had finished third with 44,128 votes. The constituency is expected to witness a strong fight, with Mr. Malhotra having a support base in the tribal population, and the Congress’s campaign against Mr. Rawat, accusing him of “betraying” the party and the voters. 

The Congress has also named its candidates for four out of five Assam Assembly seats scheduled for bypolls. 

The party fielded Dhrubajyoti Purakayastha from Dholai (Scheduled Caste/SC reserved), Sanjib Warie from Sidli (Scheduled Tribe/ST reserved), Brajenjit Sinha from Bongaigaon, and Tanzil Hussain from Samaguri.

The Congress is not fielding any candidate for Behali. The seat has been left to its regional allies.

All five seats were vacated as their respective MLAs were elected MPs in the Lok Sabha election. 

Dholai and Behali seats were held by the BJP, while its allies, the United People’s Party Liberal and the Asom Gana Parishad held the Sidli and Bongaigaon seats. The Samaguri seat was with the Congress. 

On Saturday, the BJP had also named candidates on three seats — Nihar Ranjan Das from Dholai, Diganta Ghatowar from Behali, and Diplu Ranjan Sarma from Samaguri. 

The Congress had on October 17 also named Jingjang M. Marak for the Gambegre seat, the lone seat going to bypolls from Meghalaya.

All eight seats will vote on November 13, and votes will be counted on November 23.

Published - October 20, 2024 09:55 pm IST