Bhopal, Oct 15 (IANS): The Congress on Sunday released the first list of candidates for the Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh which included 19 women and six from the minority communities.

Out of 144 candidates in the first list, the Congress has fielded 47 general candidates and 39 OBC candidates.

The party has also announced the candidates for 52 reserved seats for the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes -- 30 for the ST and 22 for SC.

The list also includes as many as six candidates from the minority community.

Nineteen women have been given tickets in the first list.

Former Chief Minister and state unit chief Kamal Nath will contest from the Chhindwara Assembly seat, and Digvijaya Singh's son Jaivardhan Singh has been fielded from the Raghogarh Assembly seat.

The Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh are scheduled on November 17, while the counting of votes will be done on December 3.

Notably, the BJP has so far released four lists comprising a total 136 candidates, while the Congress announced 144 candidates in its first list. There are a total 230 Assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh.