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Congress has released another list of candidates for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In this list, Congress has announced the names of four candidates. In which the party has given ticket to actor and former Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee president Raj Babbar from Gurgaon parliamentary constituency of Haryana.
Congress on Tuesday declared its senior leader and former Union Minister Anand Sharma as its candidate from Kangra Lok Sabha constituency of Himachal Pradesh.
According to the list of candidates released by Congress, ticket has been given to Satpal Raizada from Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh who will challenge Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur. The party has nominated Bhushan Patel from Mumbai North Lok Sabha constituency, where he will face BJP’s Piyush Goyal.
The Congress party’s decision to nominate actor Raj Babbar for the Gurugram Lok Sabha seat has ignited internal debate, particularly sidelining former minister Captain Ajay Yadav, who was considered a frontrunner for the ticket.
The selection of Raj Babbar over Captain Ajay Yadav reflects the competing interests of various factions within the Congress ranks. While Leader of Opposition Bhupendra Singh Hooda advocated for Babbar’s candidacy, other party stalwarts such as Kumari Selja, Randeep Surjewala, and Kiran Chaudhary vied for Captain Ajay Yadav’s nomination.
Originally hailing from Agra, Uttar Pradesh, Raj Babbar has been a resident of Gurugram for several years. His political career began in 1994 when he became a Rajya Sabha member, followed by successful Lok Sabha stints in 1999 and 2004. Despite facing setbacks, including a suspension from the Samajwadi Party in 2006, Babbar joined the Congress in 2008 and secured victory in the Lok Sabha elections from Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh, in 2009.
