JOIN USCandidates on Saturday will start filing nominations for 117 constituencies in 11 states including Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh with the issuance of poll notification by the Election Commission.
Submission of nomination papers will begin at 39 constituencies in Tamil Nadu, including Sivaganga, Nilgiris and Central Chennai. The Congress has nominated Karti, son of Finance Minister P Chidambaram, to contest from Sivaganga while the DMK leaders, A Raja and Dayanidhi Maran, are seeking re-election from Nilgiris and Central Chennai seats respectively.
Heavyweights in fray
In Maharashtra, candidates will begin filing nominations in 19 constituencies including Nasik, South Mumbai, North West Mumbai and North Central Mumbai.
Nationalist Congress Party heavyweight Chhagan Bhujbal, Congress leader and Union Minister Milind Deora and his party colleague Priya Dutt are likely to contest from Nashik, Mumbai South and North Central Mumbai respectively.
Poonam Mahajan, daughter of late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan, will contest from North-Central Mumbai as a candidate of the saffron party. She will take on Dutt.
Social activist Medha Patkar will contest as the Aam Aadmi Party’s candidate from North-East Mumbai.
The candidates will also start filing nominations for six constituencies in Assam, seven in Bihar, one in Jammu and Kashmir, six in West Bengal, five in Rajasthan, four in Jharkhand and 12 in Uttar Pradesh as well as one in the Union Territory of Pudducherry.
The EC will also issue notification for polling in 10 constituencies in Madhya Pradesh, including Vidisha, where Congress leader Digvijay Singh’s brother Laxman Singh will take on BJP heavyweight Sushma Swaraj.