Cong Fields Journo From Maharajganj, Urmila From Mumbai North

New Delhi: In a surprise development, the Congress on Friday fielded senior journalist Supriya Shrinate from the Maharajganj Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh. She replaced jailed politician Amarmani Tripathi’s daughter Tanushree Tripathi, whose name was earlier announced for this seat.

Tanushree’s nomination came as a big embarrassment for the Congress after she decided to go with Shivpal Yadav’s Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party-Lohia (PSP-L).

Supriya’s candidature caught Congress workers and political observers off guard. While her father, late Harsh Vardhan, was a two-time Congress MP from Maharajganj, there was little inclination about her jumping into the poll fray.

She is a senior Delhi-based journalist, working as the executive editor of ET Now, a business news channel operated by the Times group. She announced her decision to step down from the channel minutes after the Congress released its 13th list where she figured as a candidate for the upcoming polls.

The list also contained 11 other candidates — four from Bihar and seven from Odisha.

Former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar will contest from her traditional Sasaram seat.

The party has also decided to field actor Urmila Matondkar from the Mumbai North parliamentary constituency. She had joined the party earlier this week and was expected to contest from this seat.

Mumbai North was once represented by actor Govinda, who scripted history by defeating BJP’s heavyweight candidate Ram Naik by a record number of votes in 2004.