Trinamool Congress pits candidate against Sonia Gandhi, Rajnath Singh

KOLKATA: Sending out a strong message that her party was against both the Congress and the BJP, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee today fielded candidates in Rae Bareli against Sonia Gandhi and in Lucknow against Rajnath Singh.

"In Uttar Pradesh, Trinamool has fielded Umesh Mishra for the Rae Bareli constituency. In Kanpur, the Trinamool candidate is Anil Awasthi, while in Azamgarh, Madanmohan Mishra will be fighting on the Trinamool Congress symbol," the party website said.

"In Lucknow, the Trinamool candidate is Mohammed Sarvar Malik while in Pilbhit, Dr Sitaram Rajput will fight on behalf of Trinamool Congress. In Sitapur, Jagadish Narayan Shukla will be fighting on the Trinamool symbol," it added.

The party announced candidates for 18 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has held Rai Bareli since 2004.

The seat has been with the Congress since 1951, except in 1977, 1996 and 1998.

The Lucknow seat has been with BJP since 1991. The seat till 2009 was held by former prime minister and BJP patriarch Atal Bihari Vajpayee.