Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Ahead of the second phase of polling, the Congress on Tuesday fielded Anshul Avijit, the son of former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, as its candidate for the Patna Sahib Lok Sabha seat. He will take on former Union minister and BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, who has been renominated by the party to contest from the seat.
"The Central election committee has approved the candidature of Dr Anshul Avijit as Congress candidate to contest the ensuing general elections to the Lok Sabha from Patna Sahib Parliamentary constituency in Bihar," party general secretary, organisation, K C Venugopal said in a statement.
Patna Sahib has been BJP's stronghold
The Patna Sahib seat has been a stronghold of the BJP. The party won the seat with a 55 per cent vote share in 2009 and 2014 while it rose to 60 per cent in 2019. While Shatrughan Sinha represented the seat in 2009 and 2014, Ravi Shankar Prasad is the incumbent MP of the constituency.
Was Meira Kumar, her son angry with party?
Recent media reports suggested that Congress leader Meira Kumar and her son Anshul Avijit were reportedly discontent with the party, fueling speculation about a potential switch to the BJP for Avijit. However, Avijit himself refuted these claims, labelling them as baseless. Avijit, a prominent media panellist for the Congress, is the son of Meira Kumar, a five-time Lok Sabha member and former Lok Sabha Speaker. Meira Kumar has represented Sasaram in Parliament and is widely regarded as a significant figure within the Congress, known for her influence in the Sasaram area.
