'Rahul Gandhi leading us from Wayanad': Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden after being renominated for Lok Sabha polls

He also said that party leader Rahul Gandhi is leading them from Wayanad.

The party has shown faith in its sitting MP Hibi Eden by offering him a ticket from the Ernakulam Lok Sabha constituency for the second time.

"Last time was a surprise. In 2019, when I was an MLA, the party had asked me to contest, and the party decided my candidacy, which was quite a surprise. This time it was more expected because I was already a sitting MP, and there were informal discussions where we were advised to start our work," said Eden while expressing happiness.

Reacting to the Congress and United Democratic Front (UDF) alliance, Eden said, "This is actually a dream team for the Congress and the UDF... Rahul Gandhi is leading us from Wayanad."

The UDF completed its seat sharing discussions for the Lok Sabha elections in Kerala on February 29.

Of the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala, the Congress will contest in 16 seats, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) will contest in two seats, including Malappuram and Ponnani. The Kerala Congress or KCJ (J) will contest from one seat (Kottayam), and and the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) will contest from one seat (Kollam).

Congress released its first list of 39 candidates for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls on Friday.

Of the total 39 candidates announced, 16 are from Kerala, seven from Karnataka, and six from Chhattisgarh, four from Telangana. Two from Meghalaya and one each from Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, and Lakshwadeep.

According to the candidate list, Rahul Gandhi will be contesting again from Wayanad in Kerala, former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel from Rajnandgaon, and former Chhattisgarh Home Minister Tamradhwaj Sahu from Mahasamund.

The names have been announced for Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshwadeep, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, Telangana, and Tripura. (ANI)