Lok Sabha polls: Kawasi Lakhma thanks Congress party for selecting him as Bastar candidate

"I thank the party for this decision," he said.

"I have been chosen as the candidate for the Bastar seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. I thank the party for this decision. Along with Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and Kharge ji, I want to thank the people of Bastar and the Congress workers of Bastar," Kawasi Lakhma said.

Lakhma, a seasoned politician, emphasised his track record of success and pledged to leverage his experience and dedication to serve the people of Bastar.

"The Gandhi family has made me the candidate from Kota Vidhan Sabha six times, and I have won six consecutive times. Similary, this time as a candidate from Bastar, I will work for the people and raise my voice for the development of Bastar. The entire people of Bastar know that I have never fought with anyone in my 26 years of political career," Kawasi Lakhma said.

Confident in the party's prospects, Lakhma said that the Congress would secure the highest number of seats in Chhattisgarh during the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The Congress party released the fourth list on Saturday of 46 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The list contains candidates from seats in Assam, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal.

The party also released the first list of 18 candidates for the upcoming Sikkim Assembly polls on Friday.The election for 543 Lok Sabha seats will be held in seven phases starting April 19.

Nearly 97 crore voters are eligible to cast votes in the general election.Various parties have declared their initial lists for the elections, which will conclude on June 1. The counting of votes will take place on June 4.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) won 303 seats, while the Indian National Congress (INC) managed to get only 52 seats.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) won 282 seats, while the Indian National Congress (INC) managed to get only 44 seats. (ANI)