Congress chooses 40, Rahul from Wayanad

NT Bureau, Agencies

New Delhi: The Congress' Central Election Committee (CEC) on Thursday finalised the names of 40 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections including that of Rahul Gandhi from Kerala's Wayanad, sources said.

A total of 60 Lok Sabha seats from 11 states and union territories were discussed during deliberations at the CEC meeting which was chaired by party president Mallikarjun Kharge, they said.

Discussions were held on Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Sikkim, Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya and Lakshwadeep.

Congress' legislature party leader V D Satheesan said the party will contest 16 seats in Kerala and four will be contested by its allies in the state.

"The CEC has taken a decision as to who are the candidates on the 16 seats. The AICC will announce the names of the candidates tomorrow," Satheesan said. Rahul Gandhi will seek reelection from Kerala's Wayanad seat, according to the sources.

AICC in-charge Delhi Deepak Babaria said a preliminary discussion took place for Delhi candidates, where the party is contesting three seats.