New Delhi: Facing a stiff challenge in Madhya Pradesh, Congress denied tickets to 20 sitting MLAs and a Minister while it has virtually doubled the number of women nominees in the list of 221 of the total 230 candidates released today (November 1).

With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) challenge being led by firebrand leader Uma Bharati, the Congress list contains 34 women as against 18 last time and 64 from the OBC (Other Backward Communities) as compared to 62 in the previous elections.

The list was released by Chief Minister Digvijay Singh, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president R K Malviya and All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Ambika Soni at the party briefing with the Chief Minister denying any understanding with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

At the same time, he appealed to all political parties who wanted to defeat BJP that they should support Congress in those seats where they were not fielding candidates. "It is for the BSP to decide who is their enemy number one."

State Minister Devendra Tekam has been denied ticket and instead his wife Krishna Tekam has been given the nomination from Mandla (ST) constituency, Singh said, adding Congress got less votes in the Assembly segment during the last Lok Sabha elections.

Among the kith and kin of senior leaders who find place in the list include Nitin Chaturvedi, son of party spokesman Satyavrat Chaturvedi, from Chandla.

PTI