P Chidambaram opts out of LS race, son given Cong ticket

 Union Minister P Chidambaram has opted out of the Lok Sabha election with the party tonight nominating his son Karti from his constituency Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu while another Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad was brought as a candidate from Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir.

Soon after the announcement, Karti said,"my father has contested nine elections and thought it is time to give way. He is definitely not retiring from politics."

The name of Azad and Karti figure in the list of 50 Congress Lok Sabha candidates announced today, which also brought an end to speculation over remaining two Lok Sabha seats of Delhi West Delhi and South Delhi with the party re-nominating sitting MPs Mahabal Mishra and Ramesh Kumar.

Congress had already nominated sitting MPs in five other seats of Delhi. With the announcement today, all seven sitting MPs of Congress stand re-nominated.

AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh's brother Laxman Singh has been fielded from Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh from where Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj is the sitting BJP MP. Singh's son in-law Paranjayaditya Singh Parmar, whose name figured as a candiate from Panchamahal seat in Gujarat in the second list has been dropped. Ramsingh Parmar is the new candidate from the seat.

Former Union Ministers Mani Shankar Aiyar has been nominated from his traditional seat of Mayiladuthurai and R Prabhu from Coimbatore.

In Udhampur, where Azad has been made the candidate, sitting MP Lal Singh will be considered for MLC seat, AICC general secretary Madhusudan Mistri told reporters.
Expelled JD-(U) MP Purnmasi Ram, who joined the Congress yesterday, has been brought in from Gopalganj in Bihar replacing Dilip Kumar Manjhi, who was declared the party candidate earlier.

Congress has changed its candidates in two other seats in Bihar including Hajipur, where it has brought in Sanjiv Prasad Tony replacing Pratima Kumari and in Patna Saheb Kunal Singh has come in place of Raj Kumar Rajan.