Congress names five in first list for NE

Guwahati: The Indian National Congress (INC) on Friday night released the first list of five candidates in Assam, two in Meghalaya, one each in Sikkim and Nagaland for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections.

The sitting MP Mr Gaurav Gogoi, Ms Sushmita Dev in Assam and Mr Vincent Pala in Meghalaya have been re-nominated from Kaliabor, Silchar and Shillong Lok Sabha seats respectively.

The party has also decided to field former Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma from Tura, the stronghold of former Lok Sabha Speaker late P.A. Sangma and his family. Late P.A. Sangma’s daughter Agatha Sangma is the NPP candidate in the Tura seat. Sikkim Congress president Bharat Basnett will be in the fray from the lone seat in the hill state, while K.L. Chishi will be the nominee from Nagaland.

In Assam, Congress has fielded Swarup Das from Karimganj, Sushanta Borgohain from Jorhat and former Union minister Paban Singh Ghatowar from Dibrugarh.

The first phase of Lok Sabha elections will take place on April 11.

Sources in the Congress party said that candidates for remaining nine seats in Assam, two in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur is expected to be announced on Saturday.

Informing that party was looking into prospect of existing candidates in the panel, sources said that Congress party was looking to nominate some new entrants as well.