Excelsior Correspondent/PTI
JAMMU/NEW DELHI, Mar 20: Congress high command and Central Election Committee tonight cleared names of three candidates for Jammu and Kashmir including Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad, a former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, who has been named as party candidate for Udhampur-Doda Lok Sabha seat.
The Congress has named Madan Lal Sharma, a two times MP from Jammu-Poonch Lok Sabha seat as its candidate from the same constituency though Mr Sharma filed his nomination papers this morning.
The party has named Tsering Samphel, District Congress president for Leh as the Congress candidate for Ladakh Parliamentary seat.
Under the seat sharing agreement, the Congress and NC, the two coalition partners in Jammu and Kashmir, would contest three Lok Sabha seats each. NC would contest three seats of the Kashmir Valley.
The Congress tonight released 4th list of 50 candidates.
Union Minister P Chidambaram has opted out of the Lok Sabha election with the party tonight nominating his son Karti from his constituency Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu.
Soon after the announcement, Karti said,”my father has contested nine elections and thought it is time to give way. He is definitely not retiring from politics.”
The name of Azad and Karti figure in the list of 50 Congress Lok Sabha candidates announced today, which also brought an end to speculation over remaining two Lok Sabha seats of West Delhi and South Delhi with the party re-nominating sitting MPs Mahabal Mishra and Ramesh Kumar.
Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today expressed pleasure over Congress’ decision to field Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad from Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency of the State, saying it would give their alliance a shot in the arm.
“Very pleased that the Congress has fielded Azad Sb (Sahib) from Udhampur LS seat. Excellent decision, just what we needed,” Omar wrote on micro-blogging site Twitter.
He said Azad’s candidature was the much-needed shot in the arm for the Congress-National Conference alliance in the Jammu region.
“Just what was needed to give the alliance shot in the arm in Jammu,” Omar said.
The National Conference has also welcomed the decision taken by the AICC(I) for nominating Mr Azad as Congress candidate from Udhampur-Doda Lok Sabha seat.
Congress had already nominated sitting MPs in five other seats of Delhi. With the announcement today, all seven sitting MPs of Congress stand re-nominated.
AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh’s brother Laxman Singh has been fielded from Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh from where Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj is the sitting BJP MP. Singh’s son in-law Paranjayaditya Singh Parmar, whose name figured as a candidate from Panchamahal seat in Gujarat in the second list has been dropped. Ramsingh Parmar is the new candidate from the seat.
Former Union Ministers Mani Shankar Aiyar has been nominated from his traditional seat of Mayiladuthurai and R Prabhu from Coimbatore.
Expelled JD-(U) MP Purnmasi Ram, who joined the Congress yesterday, has been brought in from Gopalganj in Bihar replacing Dilip Kumar Manjhi, who was declared the party candidate earlier.
Congress has changed its candidates in two other seats in Bihar including Hajipur, where it has brought in Sanjiv Prasad Tony replacing Pratima Kumari and in Patna Saheb Kunal Singh has come in place of Raj Kumar Rajan.
In Bhind reserved seat in Madhya Pradesh, the party has made Imrati Devi its candidate after the embarrassment it suffered with the exit of Bhagirath Prasad, who quit Congress and joined BJP after getting the party nomination from the seat.
Several sitting members including Manic Tagore have been re-nominated from Tamil Nadu, where Congress is fighting a lonely battle after former ally DMK refused to have a tie-up with it.
AICC secretary K Jaikumar has been fielded from reserved Tenkasi seat and EVKS Elangovan from Tirupur.
In Uttar Pradesh the party fielded Atul Chaturvedi from Firozabad seat, which was represented by Raj Babbar, who is now contesting from Ghaziabad.
Acharya Pramod Krishnam, who is a known critic of Yoga Guru Ramdev has been nominated from Sambhal.
Kirit Patel, a Minister in the then Shankersinh Vaghela Government, who had joined Congress along with Vaghela, has been fielded from Gandhinagar from where L K Advani is the BJP candidate.
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