Bhopal, October 20: The Congress has given tickets to 41 new faces and five BJP turncoats in its second list of 85 candidates for the Assembly election in Madhya Pradesh, and replaced three candidates in its first list. The list came out late on Thursday. With this the party has declared 229 candidates for the 230-member Assembly.

The Congress has fielded Ravish Singh Tomar against Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar from the Dhimni seat of Morena district, while, from Gwalior Assembly constituency, which is the bastion of Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, the Congress has fielded Sunil Sharma. Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election 2023: Congress Releases Second List of 85 Candidates for Polls; Check Candidate Names and Their Constituencies.

In its second list, the Congress has fielded 41 new and five those who shifted from the BJP to the party. Former BJP MLA Abhay Mishra, who has been making headlines for his frequent party hopping, has been fielded from the Semaria seat, which he lost in 2018 to BJP’s K.P. Tripathi with a close margin.

At least five BJP leaders, who shifted to the Congress in the past few months, managed to get tickets. These are -- Deepak Joshi, the son of former Chief Minister Kailash Joshi from Khategaon seat of Khandwa district, Abhishek Choukase (Jabalpur Cant) , Bhavar Singh Shekhawat (Badnvar), Samandar Patel (Javad) and Girjashankar Sharma (Hoshangabad).

The Congress replaced its candidate for the Datia Assembly constituency, fielding Rajendra Bharti in place of Avadesh Nayak. He will contest against BJP candidate and Home Minister Narottam Mishra. Bharti, a former MLA, had defeated Mishra in the past but lost the last election by a slender margin. Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election 2023: Congress Fields 19 Female Candidates in First List in Vidhan Sabha Polls.

The ruling BJP has announced 136 candidates so far in four separate lists. Expressing his good wishes to all candidates of his party, Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath has appealed to the party cadres to work for the party and to uproot the BJP from Madhya Pradesh.

“I wish all the candidates good luck. The candidates of Congress Party are not just standing to become MLAs, but have also entered the election field to shape the future of Madhya Pradesh. Let us all join our duties with all our might from today and gear up to end 18 years of misgovernance in Madhya Pradesh. Form the Congress Party government in Madhya Pradesh with an overwhelming majority,” Kamal Nath said in a media post.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 20, 2023 11:50 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).