Congress fields Kumari Selja from Ambala, Deepender Singh Hooda from Rohtak

The Congress on Saturday released a list of 18 candidates for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections.It comprises names of nine candidates from Uttar Pradesh, six from Haryana and three from Madhya Pradesh. 

The party has fielded Rajya Sabha MP and former Union minister Kumari Selja from Ambala, a reserved seat. He nomination is crucial for the party as she is a sitting Rajya Sabha MP from Haryana.

Deepender Singh Hooda will contest from his stronghold Rohtak, from where he has been elected three times. Hooda was the sole Congress winner in the ten Lok Sabha seats in Haryana in 2014 and the Hooda family has represented Rohtak in Lok Sabha for most part of the segment’s history.

Further, the Congress has fielded senior leader and former state minister Captain Ajay Singh Yadav as its candidate from Gurugram.

Krishna Patel, the chief of Apna Dal which has joined hands with the Congress for the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh, is fighting on Congress' ticket from Gonda. 

The party also fielded Shruti Chaudhary from Bhiwani-Mahendragarh, Ajay Singh Yadav from Gurgaon and Lalit Nagar from Faridabad.

In Uttar Pradesh, the Congress replaced its candidate, Ramashankar Bhargava, from Mohanlalganj and fielded R K Chaudhary instead.

The Congress has also fielded Raj Kishore Singh from Basti and Ramakant Yadav from Bhadohi seats. Both had joined the party on Friday.

While Raj Kishore was minister in the Akhilesh Yadav government, Ramakant Yadav is a former MP.

The Congress has also fielded former MP Rajesh Misra from Salempur and Ummed Singh Nishad from Ambedkarnagar. 

The Congress has now declared 404 candidates for Lok Sabha elections. It is likely to announce its candidates for the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, after its negotiations with the AAP for an alliance failed on Friday.