Announcement of first list of candidates selected by Congress Central Election Committee for the ensuing Lok Sabha… https://t.co/EQH8mYBhcU — Congress (@INCIndia) 1551973467000

(With inputs from agencies)

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Thursday released its first list of 15 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha election , fielding party chief Rahul Gandhi from Amethi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi from Rae Bareli.Earlier, there was speculation that AICC general secretary and Sonia's daughter Priyanka Gandhi could contest from the Rae Bareli seat. Sonia has held the seat for the last five terms.The first list, finalised at a meeting of the party's central election committee chaired by Rahul Gandhi, names 11 candidates from Uttar Pradesh and four from Gujarat.Former Union ministers Salman Khurshid, Jitin Prasad and R P N Singh have been fielded from their traditional seats of Farrukhabad, Dhaurahra and Kushi Nagar respectively.Former UP Congress chief Nirmal Khatri will contest from Faizabad, while Bharatsinh Solanki, the party's ex-chief of the Gujarat unit, has been fielded from the state's Anand constituency.The Election Commission is likely to announce the schedule for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls this weekend or early next week. Sources said the polls are likely to be spread over 7-8 phases in April-May.