"Feels good to support All India Forward bloc candidate from Khajuraho LS seat": Congress leader Mukesh Nayak

Chairman of Madhya Pradesh Congress Media Department, Mukesh Nayak on Monday addressed a press conference for the same in the state capital Bhopal.

"It feels good to support the All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) and the reason for this is that it was formed by Indian freedom fighter Subhash Chandra Bose in 1939. Due to similar ideology, effort to save democracy in the present times, having similar ideological convention and political commitment, it is a natural alliance of AIFB and Congress Party," Nayak said.

"When the matter was discussed with the Samajwadi Party (SP), they were ready and happily gave their consent. Therefore, AIFB candidate RB Prajapati will be the official candidate of INDIA Alliance in Khajuraho Lok Sabha. SP, Congress Party and other constituent parties will help them with full strength and capacity in the upcoming election," he added.

AIFB candidate RB Prajapati is a former IAS officer and will be contesting against BJP nominee VD Sharma. Earlier, SP candidate Meera Yadav was contesting from the seat but her nomination was rejected on April 5 due to lack of a signature at one place and not having an updated voter list.

Khajuraho parliamentary seat was the only constituency assigned to Samajwadi Party, a member of the INDIA bloc, as part of a seat-sharing deal with the Congress.

Congress general secretary-in-charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh also issued a written statement in this regard.

Khajuraho will go to poll in the second phase on April 26.

Lok Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh will be conducted in four phases. The first phase of polling would be held on April 19, followed by April 26, May 7 and May 13.

Madhya Pradesh has a total of 29 Lok Sabha constituencies, making it the sixth-largest state in terms of parliamentary representation. Out of these, 10 seats are reserved for SC and ST candidates, while the remaining 19 are unreserved.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, the BJP secured a massive victory in Madhya Pradesh, winning 28 out of the 29 seats. The Indian National Congress (INC) managed to win only one seat. (ANI)