Sixteen contestants remained in the fray for the May 8 Lok Sabha bypolls in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh, with 4 independent candidates pulling out on the last day of withdrawal of nominations.

Four Independent candidates withdrew their names on Monday, election office sources said in Lucknow, adding that a total of 24 nomination papers had been filed for the seat of which four had been rejected during scrutiny.

Prominent candidates in the fray included Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Bharatiya Janata Party national general secretary Vinay Katiyar and Samajwadi Party's Raj Kumar Chaudhary.

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