Congress Drops Supriya Shrinate As Maharajganj Candidiate Amidst Backlash Over Kangana Remarks

New Delhi: The Congress has substituted Supriya Shrinate as a candidate from the Maharajganj constituency in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, where she ran in 2019. The following decision came after she faced significant backlash over her comments regarding actor Kangana Ranaut, who is the BJP's chosen candidate from Mandi seat in Himachal Pradesh. In the previous Lok Sabha elections, Shrinate ran from Maharajganj but was defeated by BJP's Pankaj Chaudhary.  

In its eighth list comprising 14 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Congress nominated Virendra Chaudhary instead of Supriya Shrinate to contest from Maharajganj. The party announced names for four states - Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, and Jharkhand. Congress has announced 208 candidates so far. 

A disrespectful post appeared on Shrinate's Instagram on Monday after BJP announced Kangana Ranaut from Mandi. The account featured a picture of Ranaut along with an allegedly derogatory caption. Shrinate quickly explained that several individuals have access to her social media accounts, and one of them was responsible for the inappropriate post. "As soon as I came to know, I deleted that post. Everyone who knows me, also knows very well that I can never make personal and indecent comments towards any woman. I wanted to know how this happened," she said. Earlier today, the Election Commission issued a show-cause notice to Shrinate regarding her post. 

The party has chosen Rao Yadvendra Singh to contest against Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia in Madhya Pradesh's Guna constituency, and Pratap Bhanu Sharma to go against former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Vidisha. Tarvar Singh Lodhi has been selected as the nominee from Damoh. 

In Jharkhand, Kalicharan Munda has been designated for the Khunti (ST) constituency, Sukhdeo Bhagat for Lohardaga (ST), and Jaiprakashbhai Patel for Hazaribagh. In Telangana, the party has put forward Suguna Kumari Chelimala for Adilabad, Tatiparthi Jeevan Reddy for Nizamabad, Neelam Madhu for Medak, and Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy for Bhongir. 

For Uttar Pradesh, the Congress has named Dolly Sharma for Ghaziabad, Nakul Dubey for Sitapur, Shivram Valmiki for the Bulandshahr (SC) seat, and Virendra Chaudhary for Maharajganj.