Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Days ahead of the second phase of voting, Congress on Monday announced a fresh list of seven candidates for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. The party announced five candidates for Bihar and two for Punjab.
In Bihar, the Congress party named Mohan Tiwari from Paschim Champaran, Ajay Nishad from Muzaffarpur, Akash Prasad Singh from Maharajganj, Sunny Hazari from Samastipur and Manoj Kumar from Sasaram. Meanwhile, the party also named Yamini Gomar from Hoshiarpur and Amarjit Kaur Sahoke from Faridkot in Punjab.
Seat sharing in Bihar
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has allotted as many as nine seats to Congress in Bihar and decided to contest 26 seats on its own including Purnia in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. These 26 seats include Pataliputra, Hajipur, Siwan, Sheohar, Purvi Champaran, Purnia, Supaul, Gaya, Nawada, Jahanabad, Aurangabad, Buxar, Jamui, Banka, Valmiki Nagar, Munger, Sitamarhi, Vaishali, Saran, Darbhanga, Gopalganj, Madhubani, Ujiarpur, Araria, Madhepura and Jhanjharpur.
The Congress is contesting on nine seats in Bihar including Kishanganj, Katihar, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Samastipur, West Champaran, Patna Sahib, Sasaram and Maharajganj. Nishad, the sitting BJP MP from Muzaffarpur, quit the party after it denied him a ticket and joined the Congress, which fielded him from the same seat.
The party is not in alliance with I.N.D.I.A bloc partner Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab, while it has an electoral pact with the Arvind Kejriwal-led party in Delhi for the Lok Sabha polls.
Congress on BJP's '400 paar' slogan
Earlier on Monday, the Congress alleged that the BJP's "400 paar" slogan is aimed at changing the Constitution and ending the reservation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and backward classes. Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed the truth behind the "400 paar" slogan is that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to change Babasaheb Ambedkar's Constitution.
"This issue is being raised through proxies. He (Modi) does not say it himself but several others keep saying it. What is the basic feature of Babasaheb Ambedkar's Constitution -- social justice and social empowerment and reservation for SCs (Scheduled Castes), STs (Scheduled Tribes) and backward classes according to their population. To end this, the '400 paar' (slogan) is being raised," Ramesh said in a video statement.
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