PATNA: With the nomination filing process for five Lok Sabha seats which go to polls in the second phase already underway, the Congress leadership is working hard to finalise the names of candidates for these seats.
The seats going to polls in the second round include Kishanganj, Katihar, Purnia, Bhagalpur and Banka, all located in the eastern part of the state.Polling for these seats will be held on April 26.
Informed sources said after much deliberation, the party leadership is close to finalizing the name of candidates for three seats out of five. Sources said Mohammad Jawed could be fielded from Kishanganj, Tariq Anwar from Katihar and former Congress legislature party leader Ajit Sharma from Bhagalpur seats.
During the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Jawed was the only candidate from the opposition camp to emerge victorious as the remaining 39 seats went to the NDA’s kitty. He won from the Muslim-dominated Kishanganj seat by over 34,000 votes. Jawed managed to win this seat despite the rival AIMIM candidate Akhtarul Iman making a heavy cut into secular votes, polling around three lakh votes. The JDU) candidate Syed Mahmood Ashraf polled over 3.32 lakh votes.
Tariq, who represented the Katihar seat five times in the past, had lost elections by just 57,000 votes in the l2019 LS polls after giving a tough fight. Tariq, who raised a banner of revolt against former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi along with party stalwarts Sharad Pawar and PA Sangma over the issue of her foreign origin, returned to the party in 2018 after 19 years.
Similarly, Sharma is tipped for Bhagalpur LS seat which the Congress has not won in the last three decades. The last time the Congress candidate had emerged victorious from this seat was in 1984 but in the aftermath of 1989 Bhagalpur communal riots, victory continues eluding the grand old party. It would be a miracle of sorts for the party if it is able to win this seat this time.
This time, the Congress has got nine seats under the seat sharing deal with its allies. They include Kishanganj, Katihar, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Samastipur, West Champaran, Patna Sahib, Sasaram and Maharajganj.
The seats going to polls in the second round include Kishanganj, Katihar, Purnia, Bhagalpur and Banka, all located in the eastern part of the state.Polling for these seats will be held on April 26.
Informed sources said after much deliberation, the party leadership is close to finalizing the name of candidates for three seats out of five. Sources said Mohammad Jawed could be fielded from Kishanganj, Tariq Anwar from Katihar and former Congress legislature party leader Ajit Sharma from Bhagalpur seats.
During the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Jawed was the only candidate from the opposition camp to emerge victorious as the remaining 39 seats went to the NDA’s kitty. He won from the Muslim-dominated Kishanganj seat by over 34,000 votes. Jawed managed to win this seat despite the rival AIMIM candidate Akhtarul Iman making a heavy cut into secular votes, polling around three lakh votes. The JDU) candidate Syed Mahmood Ashraf polled over 3.32 lakh votes.
Tariq, who represented the Katihar seat five times in the past, had lost elections by just 57,000 votes in the l2019 LS polls after giving a tough fight. Tariq, who raised a banner of revolt against former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi along with party stalwarts Sharad Pawar and PA Sangma over the issue of her foreign origin, returned to the party in 2018 after 19 years.
Similarly, Sharma is tipped for Bhagalpur LS seat which the Congress has not won in the last three decades. The last time the Congress candidate had emerged victorious from this seat was in 1984 but in the aftermath of 1989 Bhagalpur communal riots, victory continues eluding the grand old party. It would be a miracle of sorts for the party if it is able to win this seat this time.
This time, the Congress has got nine seats under the seat sharing deal with its allies. They include Kishanganj, Katihar, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Samastipur, West Champaran, Patna Sahib, Sasaram and Maharajganj.