E-Paper
Congress to weigh political equations, winnability in candidate selection
The Samajwadi Party, the main partner of the INDIA bloc in the state with 108 MLAs and two Lok Sabha MPs, has got the remaining 63 Lok Sabha seats, out of which it has given Bhadohi to the Trinamool Congress.
The Congress faces the challenge of working out political equations and evaluating winnability as it selects its candidates for 17 out of 80 seats it is contesting in alliance with the Samajwadi Party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The Samajwadi Party, the main partner of the INDIA bloc in the state with 108 MLAs and two Lok Sabha MPs, has got the remaining 63 Lok Sabha seats, out of which it has given Bhadohi to the Trinamool Congress.
After bagging 21 seats in the 2009 Lok Sabha election, it got only two seats in 2014 and one in 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Of the 17 seats given to the Congress for the 2024 election, the party had won only six in 2009 -- Rae Bareli, Amethi, Kanpur, Maharajganj, Jhansi and Barabanki.
Rae Bareli and Amethi were considered Congress bastions till 2019. Sonia Gandhi had won Rae Bareli securing 72.73% votes while Rahul Gandhi got 71.78% votes in Amethi in 2009.
In 2014, the Congress won only Rae Bareli and Amethi. Sonia Gandhi secured 63.80% votes in Rae Bareli while Rahul Gandhi got 46.71% votes.
Sonia Gandhi was the only Congress candidate who won in Uttar Pradesh in 2019. She got 55.78% votes in Rae Bareli. Rahul Gandhi with 43.84% votes lost to Smriti Irani in Amethi five years ago. Irani won with 49.69% votes.
The Congress has performed reasonably better in Kanpur in the past three polls. Sri Prakash Jaiswal had won the seat with 41.92% votes in 2009. Jaiswal secured 30.15% and 37.11% votes in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls but still ended up on the losing side.
The Congress also made its presence felt in the Fatehpur Sikri Lok Sabha seat in the past. Actor-politician Raj Babbar got 28.75% votes in Fatehpur Sikri in 2009, losing the seat to the BSP. Babbar later won the Firozabad by-poll the same year. In 2019, Babbar was second getting 16.57% votes. The party did not contest the seat in 2014.
The Congress won the Maharajganj seat with 36.40% votes in 2009.
The party, however, was not able to make a mark on the seat in 2014 and 2019.
Pradeep Jain ‘Aditya’ won the Jhansi seat and PL Punia Barabanki for the Congress in 2009. Punia was second in Barabanki in 2014. The party’s candidates, however, have not been able to repeat the same performance in 2014 and 2019.
In Saharanpur, Senior Congress leader Imran Masood, who came into prominence for comments against then BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, secured 34.14% votes and remained second in 2014. He secured 16.8% votes in 2019 and finished third.
Hopes are also high in Amroha from where the Congress is likely to field Kunwar Danish Ali, the BSP MP in the outgoing Lok Sabha. Ali had won the seat on the BSP ticket in 2019, securing 51.39% votes.
