Congress announces second list of 43 candidates for Lok Sabha polls
The Congress released its second candidate list for the Lok Sabha polls on Tuesday.
Party General Secretary K C Venugopal, framing the contest as one between the downtrodden and crony capitalists, announced 43 candidates across states, including Assam, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan.
Gaurav Gogoi will contest from Assam's Jorhat, Kamal Nath's son Nakul Nath will contest from Chhindwara.
The party's Central Election Committee (CEC) had convened on Monday to finalise candidates, shortly after releasing its first list for the polls.
Earlier, the Congress had unveiled 39 candidates for the upcoming elections, including Rahul Gandhi, who is slated to contest from Kerala's Wayanad constituency again. Bhupesh Baghel, the former Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, has been nominated to contest from Rajnandgaon. Additionally, AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal will be contesting from Alappuzha in Kerala, while Shashi Tharoor has been renominated from Thiruvananthapuram.
Key members of the CEC include party president Mallikarjun Kharge, former presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Ambika Soni, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, T S Singhdeo, and Mohammad Jawaid, among others.
Some of the candidates named include:
Assam
Dubri: Raqibul Hussain
Barpeta: Dip Bayan
Kokrajhar: Gorjon Basumatary
Diphu: Joy Ram Ingle
Assam Jorhat: Gaurav Gogoi
Gujarat
Ahmedabad East: Rohan Gupta
Madhya Pradesh
Satna: Siddarth Kushwaha
Chhindwara: Nakul Nath
Rajasthan
Bikaner: Govind Ram Meghwal
Brijender ola: Jhunjhunu
Bharatpur: Sanjana Yadav
Jodhpur: Karan Singh
Jalore: Vaibhav Gehlot
Udaipur: Tarachand Meena
Uttarakhand
Garhwal: Ganesh Godiyal
Congress releases the second list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
— ANI (@ANI) March 12, 2024
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi to contest from Jorhat, Assam. Nakul Nath to contest from Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara. Rahul Kaswa to contest from Rajasthan's Churu and Vaibhav Gehlot to contest from… pic.twitter.com/oms2aliTqF
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UAE announces complete withdrawal of forces from Yemen amid rift with Saudi Arabia
Abu Dhabi: The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday declared that it would withdraw its remaining forces from Yemen, bringing an end to what it described as its “counterterrorism” mission, amid escalating tensions with Saudi Arabia over developments in the country’s south.
The announcement followed a demand by Yemen’s internationally recognised government, led by the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council, that Emirati forces leave Yemeni territory within 24 hours. Riyadh publicly supported the call, deepening a rare public rift within the Saudi Arabia-led coalition that has been fighting Houthi rebels since 2015.
In a statement, the UAE Ministry of Defence said it had conducted a “comprehensive assessment” of its role in Yemen and decided to terminate the mission due to recent developments and their implications for the safety and effectiveness of its personnel. It said the withdrawal would be carried out in a manner ensuring the security of its forces.
Al Jazeera reported that the decision came hours after Saudi-led coalition aircraft struck the southern port city of Mukalla, targeting what Riyadh claimed was a weapons shipment linked to the UAE and intended for the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC). Saudi Arabia said it viewed recent STC advances in the Hadramout and Mahara provinces as a threat to its national security, accusing Abu Dhabi of exerting pressure on the group to carry out military operations.
The STC, which had earlier fought alongside the internationally recognised government against the Houthis, launched a major offensive this month, seizing control of large areas of southern Yemen, including provinces bordering Saudi Arabia. The advances ended years of relative stalemate and triggered sharp warnings from Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia said any threat to its security was a “red line” and that it would take all necessary measures to counter such risks. Its concerns were echoed by Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, who accused the UAE of directing and supporting the STC’s actions. Following the Mukalla strike, al-Alimi announced the dissolution of a defence pact with the UAE and ordered Emirati forces to leave within a day.
The UAE rejected the accusation, saying it was surprised by the Saudi air strike and maintaining that the shipment targeted in Mukalla did not contain weapons and was meant for Emirati forces, not the STC. It reiterated its commitment to Saudi Arabia’s security and said it was seeking a solution to prevent further escalation.
The Mukalla strike, which caused damage but no casualties, exposed widening fractures within the coalition formed nearly a decade ago to counter the Houthis. Emirati troops first deployed in Yemen in 2015, but the UAE had already drawn down most of its forces in 2019, retaining only a limited presence in government-held areas.
Saying both Saudi Arabia and the UAE reflected a commitment to regional stability and the principles of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Qatar welcomed their statements. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan also held calls with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar to discuss regional developments.
The STC spokesperson, Anwar al-Tamimi, said there was “no thinking about withdrawal” from areas it had seized, warning that any move against its forces would be met with a response. Meanwhile, Yemeni authorities imposed temporary air, sea and ground restrictions following the escalation, as uncertainty continued to surround the future balance of power in southern Yemen.
