Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Congress contesting 328 seats, fewest ever. Details here
2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress had fielded candidates on 421 seats. In 2014, it contested 464 seats and in 2009, the party fielded candidates on 440 seats. The party contested 417 seats in 2004 Lok Sabha elections.
The party won 52 seats in 2019, 44 in 2014, 206 in 2009 and 145 seats in 2004. The decrease in number of seats is primarily due to alliance commitments of the grand old party. The party is part of the Opposition’s INDIA bloc in these elections.
At least 101 seats it contested in 2019 have been given away to INDIA bloc partners in 2024 general elections. Also Read: Election 2024 : ‘Raise voice over voting data discrepancies,’ Kharge tells INDIA bloc parties on phase 3 polling day Even between 1989 and 1999, known as coalition era of Indian elections, the Congress party fielded candidates in over 450 seats. The party has conceded seats to its allies in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and Tamil Nadu.
These four states send 201 members to the Lok Sabha. The biggest decrease in the seats the Congress is contesting in Uttar Pradesh, where the grand old party has been in a political wilderness for many decades now. In 2019, the party contested 67 of the state’s 80 seats.
It won only one seat – Raebareli. The party contested election in alliance with Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). In 2024, the party is contesting 17 seats in UP including Amethi and Raebareli, as part of seat-sharing formula with the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party.
The Congress has fielded Rahul Gandhi from Raebareli seat that was won by his mother Sonia Gandhi in 2019. In West Bengal, the party has fielded candidates in just 14 of the 42 seats. In 2019, the Congress contested 40 seats and won just two.
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