JOIN USCongress general secretary Madhusudan Mistry will be contesting against BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi for the Vadodara Lok Sabha seat, while former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan will try his luck from Nanded.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari will not contest the elections and his Ludhiana seat in Punjab has been given to Raveneet Singh Bittu, sitting member from Anandpur Sahib where the party has fielded AICC general secretary Ambika Soni.
Mistry, who had won the 2004 Lok Sabha elections from Sabarkantha, Gujarat, is at present a Rajya Sabha member. He is also close confident of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi.
Narendra Rawat, who won primaries to contest from Vadodara, expressed his inability to face Modi.
The party decided to field Mistry as leaders considered Rawat was light candidate, sources said.
Mistry, who is AICC general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, was elated over the opportunity to take on Modi.
“I was waiting for this moment for long. I will fight Modi to defeat him in Vadodara. I am very confident,” he said.