Bhopal, Oct 16: The Congress on Sunday announced its first list of party candidates for the Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana assembly elections. While the party announced 144 party candidates for Madhya Pradesh elections, it announced 30 candidates for the Chhattisgarh polls and another 55 for Telangana assembly polls slated next month.

  

 

In Madhya Pradesh, the Congress fielded actor Vikram Mastal, who played Bhagwan Hanuman'a role in Anand Sagar's 2008 TV show Ramayana, against CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan from Budhni seat considering the party’s shift to soft Hindutva politics and with Kamal Nath himself steering the party through this path by portraying himself as a staunch Hanuman devotee. In the last election, former Union Minister Arun Yadav lost to Chouhan, following which he was subsequently sidelined in the party over a feud with Nath.

 

This comes against the backdrop of CM Chouhan repeatedly taunting the Congress and its leaders of being "election season devotees of Ram". Chouhan says, "Leaders of the same Congress party which told the Supreme Court that Ram was a mythical character are now organising Ram Katha events."

 

 

Former CM Kamal Nath will contest from his Chhindwara seat while another former CM Digvijaya Singh's son Jaivardhan Singh will contest from the Raghogarh seat. The Congress has named 69 MLAs in the list of 144 candidates. Besides, it has fielded 39 OBC candidates.

 

Hours after the Congress released its first list for MP polls, senior state media department leader Ajay Yadav resigned from his post alleging that fewer candidates from backward classes have been fielded by the party in the assembly election.

 

 

In Chhattisgarh, the Congress dropped eight sitting MLAs from its first list of 30 nominees in the 90-member house. CM Bhupesh Baghel and his deputy TS Singh Deo will contest from their respective constituencies Patan and Ambikapur.

 

In Telangana, posters were put up against Telangana Congress chief Revanth Reddy saying "Ratentha Reddy". The word 'Ratentha' in Telugu is loosely translated to 'what's the rate?' One such poster alleged that Reddy received Rs 58 crore from some "58 members".