"Priyanka Gandhi may be a possible candidate from Daman and Diu": Congress' Ketan Patel

NEW DELHI:Congress Daman and Diu President Ketan Patel, on Sunday said that party leader Priyanka Gandhi can be a possible candidate from the Union Territory and the party's high command has asked him to collect data for the same. "Priyanka Gandhi may be a possible candidate from Daman and Diu. I welcome this proposal," he said.

"The high command has given us the responsibility of data collection. With the arrival of Priyanka ji, the entire South Gujarat which has always been with Congress and Saurashtra which is adjacent to Diu, will benefit here. In Data collection, points like ground reality, voters and past performance will be seen," Patel added. Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in its first list of 195 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, has fielded PM Modi from the Varanasi constituency, which he has been representing since 2014.

Following the announcement, state Congress chief Ajay Rai said that Varanasi is a traditional Congress seat and exuded confidence that the people of the constituency are with the grand old party. The BJP, in its first list of candidates, has announced major names including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju, and Rajeev Chandrashekhar.

Of 195 candidates, 34 are central and state ministers while two are former Chief Ministers who have appeared on the list. Of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, the party has announced only one candidature--PM Narendra Modi.

Earlier in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP-led National Democratic (NDA) won a total of 303 seats, leaving the grand-old party behind at 52 seats. The Lok Sabha polls are likely to be held in April-May this year.