News Brief
Bihar: Congress Struggles To Find Suitable Candidates For Lok Sabha Elections As Heavyweights Exit
Nayan Dwivedi
Apr 06, 2024, 02:40 PM | Updated 02:40 PM IST
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Amidst the impending Lok Sabha elections, the Congress is reportedly finding itself grappling with the challenge of identifying suitable candidates in Bihar.
The party, stripped of prominent names like Shatrughan Sinha, Kirti Azad, Meira Kumar, and Nikhil Kumar, is facing hurdles in finalising contenders for the upcoming polls.
Out of the 40 constituencies in Bihar, the grand old party has been assigned nine seats, with its ally RJD contesting 26 and the remaining five allocated to the Left parties.
However, the absence of star players and the reluctance of potential candidates have added to the Congress's predicament.
Notably, Kanhaiya Kumar is not in contention due to Lalu Prasad Yadav's purported disinterest in endorsing the former JNU student leader.
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Moreover, the departure of Shatrughan Sinha and Kirti Azad to the Trinamool Congress has left a void, especially in constituencies like Patna Saheb.
Consequently, the Congress has only finalised candidates for three seats, namely - Kishanganj (Md Javed), Katihar (Tariq Anwar) and Bhagalpur (Ajeet Sharma), leaving the selection process for the remaining constituencies in limbo.
Former Kerala Governor Nikhil Kumar's desire to contest from Aurangabad was thwarted by the RJD, while Meira Kumar expressed reluctance to contest from Sasaram.
With Bihar scheduled to vote in seven phases, commencing on 19 April, the Congress is under pressure to expedite the candidate selection process and bolster its campaign efforts.
Also Read: 'India And Pakistan Attempted To Interfere In Elections', Canadian Intelligence Agency Claims
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Nayan Dwivedi is Staff Writer at Swarajya.
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