LS polls: Sonia, Rahul, Kharge among 40 star campaigners of Congress in Gujarat

Ahmedabad: Senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge are among the 40 star campaigners named by the grand old party for the Lok Sabha elections in Gujarat.

The state Congress unit on Tuesday shared the list of leaders, including party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, general secretary Randeep Surjewala and Rajasthan MLA Sachin Pilot, who would campaign for the party candidates.

KC Venugopal, Mukul Wasnik and Ramkishan Ojha are also among Congress leaders from the national team who will campaign for the party candidates in Gujarat, as per the list submitted to the Election Commission of India on April 19.

Elections to all the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat will be held in a single phase on May 7.

Leaders from Gujarat who figure in the list of campaigners include Congress state president Shaktisinh Gohil, former state chiefs Jagdish Thakor and Siddharth Patel, MLAs Amit Chavda, Jignesh Mevani and Shailesh Parmar, and former legislators Sukhram Rathwa, Lalit Kagathara, Paresh Dhanani, Gyasuddin Shaikh, Indranil Rajguru and Punja Vansh.

Among other notable names from the Congress are Dipak Babaria, Madhusudan Mistry, Amee Yagnik and Usha Naidu.

Out of the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat, the Congress is contesting 23, and its INDIA bloc ally Aam Aadmi Party has fielded candidates in Bharuch and Bhavnagar constituencies.

The Congress lost the Surat seat even before contesting it after its candidate Nilesh Kumbhani's nomination form was rejected.