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New Delhi: In its 14th list announced Friday, the Congress declared journalist Supriya Shrinate as its candidate from Maharajganj in Uttar Pradesh, replacing the controversial Tanushree Tripathi, who was given the ticket just a night before.

In a separate statement, the party also fielded actor Urmila Matondkar, who joined the Congress earlier this week, from Mumbai North.

Soon after the party’s surprise move this morning, Shrinate took to Twitter and expressed gratitude to Congress president Rahul Gandhi, and its Uttar Pradesh in-charges Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Jyotiraditya Scindia.

I will be taking an active plunge in politics, am grateful to @INCIndia @RahulGandhi @priyankagandhi @JM_Scindia for trusting me with Maharajganj. It will be an honour to keep my late father’s legacy alive. I look forward to making a meaningful contribution — Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) March 29, 2019

Shrinate, whose father was a Congress MP from the same seat in 2009, also said that she had stepped down as executive editor at ETNOW.

“I have stepped down as Executive Editor at @ETNOWlive to pursue the next challenging phase of my life outside media I thank The Times group for the most exciting 10 yrs….

The Congress named 12 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha in its Friday morning announcement.

The party fielded former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar from Sasaram and Ranjeet Ranjan from Supaul.

Congress had drawn criticism late Thursday after it announced the candidature of Tripathi — daughter of UP strongman Amarmani Tripathi.

Also read: In BJP’s 10th list, party swaps seats of the mother-son duo of Maneka & Varun Gandhi

Congress 13th list

The party had announced a total of 31 candidates — six from Gujarat, six from Uttar Pradesh and the rest from Rajasthan — in its list Thursday.

The Congress fielded Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s son Vaibhav Gehlot from Jodhpur, and late Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jaswant Singh’s son Manvendra Singh from Barmer.

Jitendra Singh, a close aide of party president Rahul Gandhi, was re-nominated from Alwar in Rajasthan. Former MP Jyoti Mirdha was fielded from Nagaur.

Niaz Ahmed, who recently switched over to the Congress from Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), was given a ticket from Deoria in UP.

Break in rule

In February, Gandhi had told Congress’s state presidents and other leaders that the party will not give Lok Sabha tickets to Rajya Sabha MPs, sitting MLAs and their family members.

However, going by the list Thursday, an exception has been made for Gehlot.

Manvendra Singh, the Barmer candidate, had joined the party before the state assembly elections last year. He was fielded against former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, but lost the battle.

So far, the party has declared 305 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, starting 11 April.

Also read: Congress announces 9th list for Lok Sabha polls, Karti Chidambaram to fight from Sivaganga

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