Lok Sabha Elections 2024: The Congress party on Friday released its first list of 39 candidates for Lok Sabha elections 2024, due in few weeks. The party announced names of candidates after its brainstorming session during the Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting, held on Thursday evening at its headqaurters in Delhi. The meeting was attended by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, partriarch Sonia Gandhi, General Secretary KC Venugopal among others.
Talking about big names, the party has fielded Rahul Gandhi from Kerala's Wayanad once again. Shashi Tharoor will contest from Thiruvananthapuram, KC Venugopal from Kerala's Alappuzha, Ex-Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel from Rajnandgaon, DK Suresh, brother of Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, has been fielded from Bengaluru Gramin (Rural).
The party has named six candidates from Chhattisgarh, including former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel from Rajnandgaon, and Tamrdhwaj Sahu from Mahasamund, seven from Karnataka, and 16 from Kerala.
Congress leader K Sudhakaran, who is set to contest from Kannur Lok Sabha seat in Kerala, said, "We will face the elections as a team and win all 20 seats Kerala... CPM is facilitating BJP in Kerala. Padmaja's entry into the BJP was facilitated by Pinarayi Vijayan. The problem is not her departure from the party. We are saddened because K Karunakaran's daughter left the Congress party."
Congress leader Vikas Upadhyay, who has been fielded from Raipur Lok Sabha seat, said, "Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra will reap benefits for the Congress party. BJP had lied to the public and garnered their votes in Chhattisgarh. This election will determine the direction in which India will head."
Congress General Secretary (Organisation), KC Venugopal, who is currently a Rajya Sabha member, will return to the Lok Sabha poll fray from Kerala's Alappuzha - the only seat that the Congress-led UDF had lost in Kerala in 2019.
The list, announced by Venugopal at the party office, also includes two candidates from Meghalaya, including sitting Shillong MP Vincent Pala, as well as for the sole seats in Nagaland, Sikkim, and Lakshwadeep, four from Telangana, and one from Tripura.
There are 15 candidates from the general category, while 24 are from Schedule Castes, Schedule Tribes, Other Backward Class, and minorities. Twelve of the candidates are under 50 years of age, eight are aged between 50 and 60, and 12 are aged between 71 and 76.
Full list of Congress' 39 candidates for Lok Sabha polls
| Candidate | Constituency | State |
| H R Algur (Raju) | Bijapur | Karnataka |
| Geetha Shivarajkumar | Shimoga | Karnataka |
| D K Suresh | Bengaluru Rural | Karnataka |
| Anandaswamy Gaddadevara Math | Haveri | Karnataka |
| M Shreyas Patel | Hassan | Karnataka |
| S P Muddahanumegowda | Tumkur | Karnataka |
| Venkataramegowda (Star Chandru) | Mandya | Karnataka |
| Bhupesh Baghel | Rajnandgaon | Chhattisgarh |
| Shivkumar Dahariya | Jangir-Champa | Chhattisgarh |
| Jyotsana Mahant | Korba | Chhattisgarh |
| Rajendra Sahu | Durg | Chhattisgarh |
| Vikas Upadhyay | Raipur | Chhattisgarh |
| Tamradhwaj Sahu | Mahasumund | Chhattisgarh |
| Rajmohan Unnithan | Kasaragod | Kerala |
| Rahul Gandhi | Wayanad | Kerala |
| KC Venugopal | Alappuzha | Kerala |
| K Sudhakaran | Kannur | Kerala |
| Shashi Tharoor | Thiruvananthapuram | Kerala |
| K Muraleedharan | Thrissur | Kerala |
| Shafi Parambil | Vadakara | Kerala |
| M K Raghavan | Kozhikode | Kerala |
| V K Sreekandan | Palakkad | Kerala |
| Ramya Haridas | Alathur | Kerala |
| Benny Behanan | Chalakudy | Kerala |
| Hibi Eden | Ernakulam | Kerala |
| Dean Kuriakose | Idukki | Kerala |
| Kodikunnil Suresh | Mavelikkara | Kerala |
| Anto Antony | Pathanamthitta | Kerala |
| Adoor Prakash | Attingal | Kerala |
| Mohd Hamdullaha Sayeed | Lakshadweep | Lakshadweep |
| Vincent H Pala | Shillong | Meghalaya |
| Saleng A Sangma | Tura | Meghalaya |
| S Supongmeren Jamir | Nagaland | Nagaland |
| Gopal Chettri | Sikkim | Sikkim |
| Suresh Kumar Shetkar | Zahirabad | Telangana |
| Raghuveer Kunduru | Nalgonda | Telangana |
| Challa Vamshi Chand Reddy | Mahbubnagar | Telangana |
| Balram Naik Porika | Mahabubabad | Telangana |
| Ashish Kumar Saha | Tripura West | Tripura |
Lok Sabha elections are due to be held in few weeks, however, the polling schedule is yet to be announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
On Saturday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced its first list of 195 candidates for Lok Sabha polls.
ALSO READ | Congress party's plea to stay IT action against its bank accounts dismissed
