With a view to reviving the party in Pratapgarh, the Congress is mulling over fielding senior party leader Pramod Tiwari from the seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) spokesperson Kishore Varshney confirmed that the party was seriously thinking over Tiwari’s name. Kunwar Harivansh Singh of the Apna Dal is the sitting MP from there.
Party sources said Congress general secretary (east UP) Priyanka Gandhi and senior party leaders of Pratapgarh held discussions on the issue in the state capital recently.
Reports said the party’s district unit office bearers had also sent a letter to the UPCC president in this regard last month and are awaiting a reply.
Tiwari is a former nine-time MLA from Rampur Khas assembly seat of the district. He is also a former Rajya Sabha MP. He is the native of Sangramgarh town in the district. As per the party office bearers Tiwari is a respected figure in the district.
The Congress has represented the district in Lok Sabha 10 times with Raja Dinesh Singh winning the seat four times (1967, 71, 84, 89). His daughter Rajkumari Ratna Singh emerged victorious on three occasions (1996, 99, 2009).