Jitin Prasada Won't Fight Against Rajnath Singh? Congress Leader Confirms Candidature from Dhaurahra

New Delhi: Ending speculations over challenging Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Lucknow, Congress leader Jitin Prasada on Monday confirmed that he won't shift his base ahead of polls, and would contest from his traditional Dhaurahra constituency.

Talking to News18, Prasada said that he will file nomination from Dhaurahra on April 12. Residents of the area will vote on May 6.

Prasada, a Brahmin, hails from a prominent political family from Shahjahanpur. His father, the late Jitendra Prasada, was a Congress stalwart and had even contested the party presidential election against Sonia Gandhi.

The son won his first Lok Sabha election from Shahjahanpur in 2004. In the next elections in 2009, he shifted to the newly-formed Dhaurahra constituency and won. In 2014, he lost to the BJP.

Prasada is also a close friend of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. He had campaigned for SP chief in the 2017 assembly elections when both the parties were in an alliance.