Congress releases second list of candidates for Madhya Pradesh assembly elections

New Delhi [India]: The Congress on Thursday announced its second list of candidates for the upcoming Madhya Pradesh assembly elections.

The list includes the names of 88 candidates.

The list was announced following the party’s Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting held on Wednesday in the national capital.

The Congress party has replaced three candidates on the Datia, Pichhore and Gotegaon constituencies in the state.

The grand old party has fielded Rajendra Bharti, replacing Awadhesh Nayak, from the Datia constituency in Madhya Pradesh.

Bharti is a former MLA from the Datia constituency.

On the Gotegaon seat which is reserved for the Scheduled Caste community, the party has fielded Narmada Prasad Prajapati, replacing Shekhar Chowdhary, whose name was announced earlier in the first list.

Moreover, the grand old party has fielded Arvind Singh Lodhi replacing Shailendra Singh from the Pichhore constituency.

Earlier, in the first candidate list, the party announced the names of 144 candidates, fielding state unit president and former Chief Minister Kamal Nath from Chhindwara.

The list included prominent names such as former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, Former Minister of Higher Education of Madhya Pradesh Jitu Patwari, Jaivardhan Singh, Member of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly Vijayalakshmi Sadho and Member of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly Lakshman Singh.

Madhya Pradesh is one of the five states set to hold elections this year.

The state is scheduled to vote on November 17, with the vote count taking place on December 3.

Voters will choose legislators from 230 Assembly constituencies.

The Kamal Nath government collapsed in March 2021 when 22 sitting Congress MLAs resigned under the leadership of Jyotiraditya Scindia and joined the BJP. Subsequently, the BJP formed the government in the state, with Shivraj Singh Chouhan taking office as Chief Minister.