Jitin Prasada to take on Rajnath Singh in Lucknow

A day after he brushed aside as "hypothetical" the question whether he was planning to cross over to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress sources said on Saturday former Union Minister Jitin Prasada may contest the Lok Sabha elections from Lucknow against Rajnath Singh of the BJP.

A party source close to Prasada told IANS: "He may contest the polls against Rajnath Singh from Lucknow."

"The party is likely to shift him to Lucknow to give Rajnath Singh a tough fight," the source said. It also refuted claims that Prasada may join the BJP ahead of the general elections.

The source also said the Congress has shifted Raj Babbar to Fatehpur Sikri. The party had earlier announced Babbar as its candidate from Moradabad.

According to the source, Prasada has also met Priyanka Gandhi, the party General Secretary in-charge of UP East, to discuss the matter.

The name of Prasada figured in the list of 11 candidates announced for the state on March 7.

Prasada, who lost 2014 elections from the Dhaurahra constituency, was a Minister of State in the UPA-I and UPA-II governments led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. In 2004, he won from Shahjahanpur and in 2009 from Dhaurahra.

Prasada also contested the 2017 Assembly elections, but lost to Roshan Lal Verma of the BJP.

--IANS

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