Grandson of former chief minister Kedar Pandey, Sashwat Kedar Pandey (36), is likely to be the Congress nominee from Valmikinagar seat to contest the Lok Sabha elections.

A Youth Congress worker, Sashwat will be pitted against the Janata Dal (United) nominee Vaidyanath Prasad Mahato.

The seat was earlier held by the BJP. Under the seat-sharing pact, the JD(U) has got the seat and fielded Mahato, banking on his caste (Kushwaha) strength in the constituency.

A senior leader of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) said that the name of Sashwat would be announced soon, as the ninth nominee to fight under the Grand Alliance (GA).

“Sashwat is a young party worker and likely to be lapped up by all community voters owing to his family reputation in the region. His father, Manoj Pandey, was also elected as an MP from Bettiah,” said a senior leader of the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC).

BPCC leaders said that sitting BJP MP Satish Chandra Dubey and Congress MLA from Bettiah Madan Mohan Tiwari were also in the consideration for being fielded from Valmikinagar. “Strong resentment was prevailing among the dominant Brahmins of the area after BJP left the seat for JD(U), which decided to field a leader from Kushwaha community. We hope that Sashwat would be able to wrest the seat comfortably,” they added.

First Published: Apr 14, 2019 09:28 IST