The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) unveiled its first batch of candidates for the impending General Elections, signaling its preparedness for the significant polls. With over 195 names, the initial list includes prominent figures like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and 34 Union Ministers.
Prime Minister Modi is set to contest from his stronghold in Varanasi, as confirmed by the party’s general secretary Vinod Tawde.
After extensive deliberations, the BJP’s central election committee convened a meeting at the party headquarters on Thursday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, J P Nadda, and other senior leaders in attendance.
Earlier today, BJP MP Jayant Sinha and Gautam Gambhir withdrew from the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. Sinha cited the necessity to focus on combating global climate change in India and worldwide, while Gambhir referenced upcoming cricket commitments.
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The list, covering 16 states and Union Territories, includes 28 women, 27 SC, and 57 OBC candidates, with 47 candidates below the age of 50.
Gujarat and Rajasthan each have nearly 15 declared seats, with 9 candidates each from Kerala, Telangana, Assam, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh.
Additionally, five candidates from Delhi and one from Goa have been announced.
Earlier today, BJP MPs Jayant Sinha and Gautam Gambhir opted out of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Sinha cited the need to focus on combating global climate change, while Gambhir cited upcoming cricket commitments.
Delhi:
Bansuri Swaraj, daughter of former minister Sushma Swaraj, will contest from the New Delhi seat. Kamaljit Sehrawat, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, and Manoj Tiwary will contest from West Delhi, South Delhi, and North East Delhi, respectively. Parveen Khandelwal has been nominated for the Chandni Chowk seat.
Shah will contest elections from Gandhinagar, Gujarat, a seat that has been a stronghold for the BJP since 1989, historically represented by stalwarts like LK Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Shah secured a significant victory here in 2019, defeating Congress’ Chaturainh Chavda by over 5.5 lakh votes.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will contest from Lucknow, and Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia will stand from Guna-Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh.
Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who participated in the candidate assessment meeting for his state, has been named as the candidate from the Vidisha constituency.
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will contest from Porbandar, while MoS for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar, currently a Rajya Sabha MP, will contest from Thiruvananthapuram.
The Delhi BJP’s election committee has submitted a list of 25-30 potential candidates for consideration in the seven seats within the capital. Notable candidates for the New Delhi seat include Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, and the late leader Sushma Swaraj’s daughter Bansuri, along with sitting MP Meenakshi Lekhi.
With the exception of MPs Gautam Gambhir and Hans Raj Hans, the remaining five MPs are serving their constituencies for the second consecutive term.
Former Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will contest from Dibrugarh, a seat he previously won in 2004 with the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP).
The first list of BJP candidates includes prominent leaders like Smriti Irani and Bhojpuri cinema star Ravikishan, contesting from their current constituencies of Amethi and Gorakhpur, respectively.
Bhojpuri star Pawan Singh will contest from Asansol, West Bengal, challenging BJP turncoat and incumbent Trinamool Congress MP Shatrughan Sinha.
Notably, Bhopal MP Pragya Thakur was not included in the initial list.
Seats from southern states were also included in the BJP’s initial candidate list, providing approximately 50 days for campaigning ahead of the elections.
PM Modi had expressed the goal of winning 370 Lok Sabha seats in the upcoming election as a tribute to Syama Prasad Mookerjee, who advocated for the scrapping of Article 370.
