Congress, which has been in power for the longest time and is the oldest party in the country, will contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on the lowest number of seats in its electoral history. The Congress party, which sent only 44 MPs to the Lok Sabha, the lowest in its electoral history in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, will contest less than 350 Lok Sabha seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Congress has so far announced its candidates for 266 Lok Sabha seats. According to sources, associated with Congress, the party will field its candidates on a total of 330 to 340 seats in 2024 Lok Sabha elections. If this happens, then for the first time Congress will contest elections on less than 400 Lok Sabha seats.
Since the first Lok Sabha elections that the country witnessed in 1951-52 till 2019 general polls, the Congress never contested less than 400 Lok Sabha seats. Congress had so far contested the Lok Sabha elections on the least number of seats in 2004, when the party contested on just 417 Lok Sabha seats. After this, the party had fielded 440 candidates in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, 463 candidates in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and 421 candidates in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
In the last 17 Lok Sabha elections, Congress had fielded the maximum number of candidates in the 1996 Lok Sabha elections, when Congress had fielded 529 candidates.
Why is Congress Fighting Elections On Least Number of Seats?
The biggest reason behind Congress contesting less seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections is that the party is a key member of the Opposition bloc — INDIA. In many states, Congress is contesting Lok Sabha elections on fewer seats than in the previous elections because of its seat-sharing.
For example, in Uttar Pradesh, Congress had last contested elections on 67 Lok Sabha seats under the UPA alliance, but this time the party is contesting only on 17 seats i.e. 50 seats less. Similarly, in Bengal, Congress Party had fielded candidates on 41 Lok Sabha seats last time, but according to sources, this time Congress is fielding candidates on only about 20 Lok Sabha seats.
Apart from this, Congress is also contesting on four less seats in Delhi as compared to the last election, two less seats in Gujarat and three less seats in Rajasthan than the previous election. In Madhya Pradesh, Congress is contesting one seat less in 2024 compared to the previous elections.
In Jammu and Kashmir, this time Congress has fielded fewer candidates on two seats than in the last Lok Sabha elections. Last time, Congress had contested elections on four out of five Lok Sabha seats of Jammu and Kashmir.
Till now Congress has announced candidates for a total of 278 Lok Sabha seats. Due to contesting elections on less seats, the biggest challenge of Congress will be to increase its number of seats as well as increase its vote percentage.
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