Mumbai, Sep 23 - The Congress Wednesday named Rajendra Shekhawat, son of President Pratibha Patil, as its candidate from the prestigious Amravati assembly constituency of Vidarbha in eastern Maharashtra. The nomination was being spoken about for about a month.

Both parents of Rajendra -- President Patil and father Devisingh R. Shekhawat -- have earlier represented the constituency in parliament and assembly.

A strong contender for the same constituency was the state's junior finance minister Sunil Deshmukh who has been elected from there twice -- in 1999 and 2004.

Congress circles apprehend that Deshmukh may now contest as a rebel.

The Congress has announced the first list of 159 candidates while its ally the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) named 80 candidates for the Oct 13 elections.