PTI - Friday, 11-45 pm
Lucknow, Apr 21: With the rejection of nomination papers of four independent nominees on scrutiny, a total of 20 candidates, including Congress president Sonia Gandhi, are in the fray for the May 8 byelection to the prestigious Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat.
Besides Gandhi, BJP nominee Vinay Katiyar, expelled BJP leader Uma Bharti-backed Apna Dal nominee Prabha Singh and Samajwadi Party candidate Raj Kumar Chaudhary are also in the fray.
The nomination papers of four independent candidates Sanjay Kumar, Ashok Pandey, Bharat and Mahesh Chand Sharma were rejected after scrutiny today, Election Directorate sources in Lucknow said.
April 24, 2006 is the last date for withdrawal of names.
The byelection in Rae Bareli has been necessitated following the resignation of Sonia Gandhi over the office-of-profit controversy.