The Congress party released the first list of candidates for the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections on Sunday. The elections will be held in a single phase on November 17. The list includes state president Kamal Nath from Chhindwara and Vikram Mastal against Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan from the Budhni constituency.

Former Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh”s son Jaivardhan Singh will fight for the Raghigath seat. The party has given KP Singh, a five-time MLA from Pichhor, a ticket from Shivpuri. The party has also replaced Jhabua candidate Kantilal Bhuria with Bhuria”s son and youth president Vikrant Bhuria.

मध्य प्रदेश में होने वाले विधानसभा चुनाव, 2023 के लिए भारतीय राष्ट्रीय कांग्रेस द्वारा जारी उम्मीदवारों की पहली सूची। pic.twitter.com/RWIXZUoVcv

— Congress (@INCIndia) October 15, 2023

The list comprises all the sitting MLAs and leaders who lost the previous election by a narrow margin. The party has given 65 tickets to young leaders and fielded 19 women candidates.

The party has announced the names of all senior party leaders who will be contesting in the upcoming Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls. The list includes Govind Singh from Lahar, Jitu Patwari from Rau, Sajjan Singh Verma from Sonkatch, Ajay Singh Rahul from Churhat, Kamleshwar Patel from Sihawal, Lakshman Singh from Chachaura, Jaivardhan Singh from Raghogarh, and Vijaylaxmi Sadho from Maheshwar.

According to Congress media in-charge KK Mishra, these names were decided earlier, and the real surprise will be seen in the list of 106 candidates that will be released in a few days.

On Friday, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge chaired a meeting to discuss the probable candidates for the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections. The party”s Central Election Committee held separate meetings on the assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh and Telangana, scheduled for November 17 and 30, respectively.