Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has said the Congress is fighting a "lost battle" and its first list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections does not have any prominent nominees for seats in MP.

Yadav, a senior BJP leader, was talking to reporters at the Swami Vivekananda Airport in Raipur on Tuesday before returning to Madhya Pradesh after concluding his day-long tour of Chhattisgarh, which is also under the saffron rule.

The Congress on Tuesday evening announced its second list of 43 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, likely to be held in April-May. Of the 43 candidates, 10 are from Madhya Pradesh, where the the grand old party managed to win just one seat (Chhindwara) out of total 29 in 2019.

The first Congress list released last week had 39 candidates, including party MP Rahul Gandhi, who represents Kerala’s Wayanad in the Lower House of Parliament, but it did not cover any seat in the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh.

Asked about the Congress list of Lok Sabha candidates for Madhya Pradesh, Yadav said, "The Congress is fighting a lost battle. No prominent names featured in this list. On the contrary, the BJP's first list of candidates carried the names of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji and several other leaders." The BJP leader claimed prominent Congress politicians are reluctant to contest the upcoming polls.

"We all can understand that the upcoming time is going to be very bad for the Congress as its big leaders have already left the ground and its results are visible," Yadav said.

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