Cong drops Supriya Shrinate’s name amid row over remark on Kangana Ranaut

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NEW DELHI: The Congress on Wednesday released its eighth list of 14 candidates for the Lok Sabha election, fielding Rao Yadvendra Singh against Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia in Madhya Pradesh’s Guna.

It also fielded Pratap Bhanu Sharma against former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Vidisha. Tarvar Singh Lodhi has been nominated from Damoh.

In Uttar Pradesh, the Congress nominated Dolly Sharma from Ghaziabad, Nakul Dubey from Sitapur, Shivram Valmiki from Bulandshahr (SC) and Virendra Chaudhary from Maharajganj.

Congress social media department head Supriya Shrinate, who is at the centre of a controversy over a now-deleted social media post on BJP’s Mandi candidate Kangana Ranaut, had unsuccessfully contested the Maharajganj seat last time.

There had been speculation that she could again be fielded from Maharajganj but the ticket has gone to Chaudhary.

The Congress announced candidates for four seats each in Uttar Pradesh and Telangana, and three each in Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand. With this, the total number of candidates declared by the party so far has reached 208.

In Jharkhand, the Congress named Kalicharan Munda from Khunti (ST), Sukhdeo Bhagat from Lohardaga (ST) and Jai Prakashbhai Patel from Hazaribagh constituency.

In Telangana, the party has fielded Athram Suguna from Adilabad, Tatiparthi Jeevan Reddy from Nizamabad, Neelam Madhu from Medak and Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy from Bhongir.

The announcement of the 14 candidates came hours after top Congress leaders met here to discuss the party’s Lok Sabha poll candidates in Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Goa and Jharkhand.