Congress with only 328 seats, allies contesting 101 congress seats of 2019

NEW DELHI: With 101 seats contested in 2019 given to allies to fend off the BJP, the Congress has only 328 candidates.

The Congress was limited to 328 as the ticket in Gujarat's Surat was rejected and the candidate in Madhya Pradesh's Indore was withdrawn. Congress lost seats in 12 states due to emphasis on allies. Allies were given one or two seats in all the nine states where the party is strong.

In 2019, Congress contested in 67 out of 80 seats but won only in Raebareli through Sonia Gandhi. This time it is contesting in alliance with Samajwadi Party in only 17 seats including Amethi and Raebareli. If there was only NCP in Maharashtra in 2019, this time there is also Shiv Sena (Uddhav), so compromise became necessary. Hence, Congress has reduced to 17 seats from last time's 25

Congress, which contested all seven seats in Delhi last time, is contesting only in North East Delhi, North West Delhi and Chandni Chowk based on an agreement with the Aam Aadmi Party. Haryana (Kurukshetra) and Gujarat (Bhavnagar, Bharuch) states were also compromised for alliance with AAP. In Andhra, CPM and CPI were given two seats (Araku and Guntur). Dibrugarh in Assam was given to the regional party Assam National Parishad.

Support for forward block as well

Congress is supporting the forward block of the 'INDIA' coalition in Madhya Pradesh, after the Samajwadi Party's Khajuraho seat was rejected. In Rajasthan, Congress gave Sikar seat to CPM, Nagaur seat to Hanuman Beniwal's RLP and Banswara seat to Bharat Adivasi Party (BAP). Arvind Damor, who has filed his party's nomination papers, is still in the fray in Banswara, Rajasthan, despite the Congress forming an alliance with BAP. The party officially supports BAP's Rajkumar Roat. Tripura East seat constituency was given to CPM. In Mizoram, Congress narrowed down to a single seat.

History of Congress Lok Sabha Candidates

2004- 417

2009- 440

2014- 464

2019- 421

State.............................seats in 2019.........2024

Uttar Pradesh...................... 67..........................17

West Bengal.........................40..........................14

Maharashtra........................25..........................17

Karnataka............................21..........................28

Odisha..................................18...................... .......20

Jammu and Kashmir............5.................................3

Delhi......................................7..................................3