LS polls: Congress veterans Ashok Gehlot, Kamal Nath, Digvijaya Singh likely to give Lok Sabha elections a miss, say sources

Several veteran leaders of the grand old Congress party are likely to give the upcoming Lok Sabha elections a miss. These leaders are Digvijaya Singh, Kamal Nath, Ashok Gehlot, Sachin Pilot, and Harish Rawat, India Today TV reported citing sources aware of the matter. 

On Monday, the grand old party's Central Election Committee (CEC) held its second meeting. Discussions took place over 62 seats including 16 in Madhya Pradesh, 14 in Gujarat and Assam each, 13 in Rajasthan, and 5 in Uttarakhand.

The list did not include names of Digvijaya Singh, Kamal Nath, Ashok Gehlot, Sachin Pilot, and Harish Rawat. These leaders were not keen on contesting the general polls and gave the names of other leaders instead.

Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot have his son Vaibhav's name. The Congress CEC cleared Vaibhav Gehlot's name from the Jalore seat, as per sources. The Congress' central election panel, however, skipped Gehlot's bastion Jodhpur. 

Ex-Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath is likely to contest again from Chhindwara. Former Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat, however, stepped aside from the electoral fray citing health concerns. The former Uttarakhand CM wanted the party to give his son Virendra Rawat a ticket instead. 

Congress General Secretary in-charge in Chhattisgarh Sachin Pilot, however, assured the party that instead of contesting the polls, he would work in the state to improve the party's overall tally. He also said that he would focus on the four Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan. 

Ambiguity in Assam

While the CEC discussed all 14 seats in Assam, there was confusion over whether the Congress will be able to maintain its alliance with the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP). There is also ambiguity over which constituency will late Assam CM Tarun Gogoi's son and Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi contest from.

His previous seat Kaliabor has been changed due to the delimitation exercise in the state in December 2022. Sources mentioned that Gaurav Gogoi is eyeing a ticket from his late father's home turf Jorhat. 

Key Congress candidates to watch

As per the two lists of the Congress party, Rahul Gandhi will be fielded again from Wayanad in Kerala. Shashi Tharoor's ticket has also been repeated from Thiruvananthapuram.

Congress general secretary K C Venugopal will contest from Alappuzha again. Former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel will contest from Rajnandgaon whereas Tamradhwaj Sahu has been fielded from Mahasumund.