The Congress party unveiled its list of candidates on Friday, and the party has picked Rahul Gandhi from Raebareli and Kishori Lal Sharma from Amethi has been nominated. After a great deal of speculation regarding the two Uttar Pradesh seats, the announcement was made.

Raebareli and Amethi have both been strongholds for the Congress. Rahul Gandhi lost against BJP leader and Union Minister Smriti Irani in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Amethi.

Taking to social media X, Congress announced their decision to field Rahul Gandhi from Raebareli and KL Sharma from Amethi, which was made at a meeting of the Central Election Committee.

Today is the final day to submit nominations for the  fifth phase of the election, which is scheduled to held on May 20th. Both the candidates will file nominations today. 

Priyanka Gandhi praised KL Sharma shortly after the nominees for the two prestigious seats were revealed, stating that his loyalty and dedication will help him win the election.

She wrote X, her family has known Kishori Lal Sharma ji for a very long time. His dedication to serving the public good serves as an example. The Congress Party’s decision to nominate Shri Kishori Lal Ji as an Amethi candidate is a matter of joy. She also said Kishori Lal Sharma will undoubtedly win this election because of his devotion to duty and loyalty.

However, given Union minister Smriti Irani’s success in Amethi in 2019, there is worry that Rahul Gandhi’s change of seat could work in the BJP’s favour. With her impending victory, the senior BJP leader has said that the Congress’s delay was due to cold feet and is prepared to defend the seat.

KL Sharma will contest against Smriti Irani in Amethi in the Lok Sabha elections. While, Rahul Gandhi’s opponent would be Dinesh Pratap Singh, who was named by BJP for Raebareli on Thursday. Singh lost the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to former Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi  is scheduled to hold a roadshow in Raebareli after filing of nominations. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge will also visit Raebareli today.

BJP on Thursday dropped sitting Kaiserganj MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who has been accused of sexual harassment by women wrestlers and gave a ticket to his son, Karan Bhushan Singh. Karan Bhushan, Brij Bhushan’s younger son, is the president of the Uttar Pradesh Wrestling Association. He is also the head of The Cooperative Bank in Nawabganj in Gonda district.

Karan Singh Bhushan was on December 13, 1990. He competed at the national level in double trap shooting. He has a daughter and a son. Karan Singh Bhushan completed his Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and law from Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University.

He has also holds a diploma in business management from Australia. Karan Bhushan Singh is presently the president of the Uttar Pradesh wrestling association. Earlier he was the senior vice president of the UP wrestling association. Elections will be take place in Kaiserganj in the 5th phase of Lok Sabha elections on May 20. Karan Bhushan Singh is likely to file his nomination from Kaiserganj on May 3.

There has been a lot of speculation and suspense on Brij Bhushan Sharan seat this time as the former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief, who is also a 6-term MP, had been accused of sexual harassment by some of the India’s top wrestlers.

Many female wrestlers, including medallists, protested against the BJP leader and demanded his arrest over the charges of sexual harassment while he was serving the position of the WFI president. Wrestlers, including Sakshi Malik and Bajrang Punia, sat on a protest at the Jantar Mantar and demanded action against the Kaiseganj MP.

The Delhi Police later registered a case against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354D (stalking), 354A (sexual harassment) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC, on June 15, 2023. But he was granted bail on July 20, 2023.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said that the sex video  case involving Prajwal Revanna, the member of Parliament from Karnataka’s Hassan, is not just a mere sex scandal but of mass rape. He also criticised the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the JD(S) and seeking votes for a mass rapist.

Rahul Gandhi was addressing an election rally in Karnataka’s Shivmogga where he said that PM Modi is seeking votes for a mass rapist. Prajwal Revanna raped a number of women and made their sex videos. The Congress leader added that Narendra Modi, from a packed stage, supports that rapist and said: if the people of Karnataka vote for this rapist, it will help him. Gandhi accused PM Modi of helping Revanna (former PM HD Deve Gowda’s grandson) escape from India.

Gandhi said even when Prajwal Revanna raped a number of women, the prime minister did not stop him from going to Germany. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has all the machinery, yet he allowed the mass rapist to flee to Germany. He took a sarcastic dig at PM Modi and said this is Modi’s guarantee. The Congress leader asserted that whether it’s a corrupt leader or a mass rapist, the BJP will always protect him.

Prajwal Revanna, the sitting MP from Hassan and the grandson of former PM HD Deve Gowda, has been accused of being in purported sex tapes. A number of pen drives allegedly contain his sexual assault videos which were circulated in Hassan, the Lok Sabha constituency from where he is the BJP-JD (S) candidate.

Most of the sex videos were recorded by Prajwal Revanna in his office and house. Initially, the Gowda family and the BJP termed the tapes as being doctored to tarnish the image of the family in elections but later, HD Kumaraswamy distanced himself from the tapes and said the police is investigating the matter.