File photo: Madhusudan Mistry with Rahul Gandhi
The Congress has fielded its general secretary Madhusudan Mistry to take on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi from Vadodara. This comes hours after Narendra Rawat, the Congress's earlier choice against Mr Modi, withdrew from the race.
"This was the moment I was waiting for years. Let Modi fight from Vadodara, I will also fight from here and defeat him. I am very confident that I will defeat him," Mr Mistry said.
The declaration of Mr Rawat's candidacy was greeted with disbelief and derision by sections within the Congress. He was declared as "a lightweight," but party-leaders from the state could not oppose his nomination as he had made his way through the primary held for the seat.
Vadodara has over the past couple of decades come to be viewed as a BJP stronghold. Except for a brief interlude of two years (1996-98), the party has clung on to the constituency regularly since 1991. Congress' Satyajit Sinh Gaekwad emerged triumphant in 1996, but he was defeated by the BJP's Jayaben Thakkar two years later.
Balkrishna Shukla of the BJP won the seat by a margin of over 1.36 lakh votes in 2009. He gives way to Mr Modi, who is also contesting from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. The Congress is yet to name its candidate from Varanasi.
Mr Mistry has been strong vote base in tribal areas, particularly in North Gujarat. He, however, lost from Sabarkantha in 2009. So, contesting from an urban constituency like Vadodara may prove challenging for Mr Mistry. But given his stature in the party, the high command decided to pitch him against Mr Modi.