New Delhi, March 25 (IANS) The Congress Tuesday changed its nominee from Gujarat's Vadodara Lok Sabha constituency, from where BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is contesting, replacing Narendra Rawat with party general secretary Madhusudan Mistry.
The party Tuesday came out with a list of 12 candidates including Mistry from Vadodara and former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan from Nanded.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari is unlikely to contest elections with the Congress moving Raveneet Singh Bittu, MP from Anandpur Sahib, to Ludhiana.
Tewari represented Ludhiana in 15th Lok Sabha. Among other candidates announced by the Congress include Santokh Singh Choudhary (Jalandhar) and M.S. Kaypee (Hoshiarpur).
Congress sources said that Rawat was a lightweight compared to Modi and the party wanted to give a tough fight to the Gujarat chief minister.
Interestingly, Rawat was chosen through the much flaunted process of primaries initiated by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.
Modi is also contesting from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh.
Mistry said he was keen to contest against Modi.
"I have been asked to contest from Vadodara. It is an opportunity I had been waiting for a long time. Let Modi also contest from there and let's see who wins," said Mistry, who hails from Guajrat is considered close to party vice president Rahul Gandhi.
Chavan, who got the party ticket from Nanded, had to step down as chief minister in the wake of Adarsh housing society controversy that surfaced in 2010. There were uncertainty about whether he would be fielded.
Responding to questions concerning Chavan, party general secretary Ajay Maken said that court or Election Commission had not barred him from contesting.
He contended Chavan's case was different from Suresh Kalmadi and a court has not taken cognisance of allegations pertaining to him.
Last week, Congress had denied renomination to Kalmadi, sitting MP from Pune, in the wake of allegations against him concerning the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Redmi K50S Pro may launch soon, may get 200MP camera, know features and price
Redmi K50S Pro Launch Date: Chinese company Xiaomi has returned its Redmi K series to the Indian
A major fire broke out in a scrap warehouse in Bhoiguda Aadi, Hyderabad. About 12 people are fear
Samsung Vice Chairman JY Lee jailed for two and a half years, know what is the whole matter
A South Korean court sentenced JY Lee, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, to two and a half ye
Congress to use Web, Smart-Phone Application for Enrolment
New Delhi, Feb 6 (IANS) Keen to boost its membership at a politically difficult time for the pa
Coal block case: Court summons Delhi-based company's officials
New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) A court here on Monday issued summons to chief executive officer (CEO
Future belongs to Digital India, says Jaitley
New Delhi, Feb 2 (IANS) Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley Monday said the futur
US President Joe Biden delivered the 'State of the Union speech in the US Parliament on March 2.
Paris 2015 Climate pact to be one among all for all: France
New Delhi, Feb 5 (IANS) French Foreign Minister Laurent F
PTI chief Imran Khan reacts to Pakistan's next Pak army chief. PTI chief Imran Khan has said that
When RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav recently took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not ha
