The BJP has issued its fifth candidate list for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, unveiling the names of 111 candidates. The list includes celebrities and politicians who have switched sides, creating quite a stir in the political arena. Notably, the party has fielded Dharmendra Pradhan from Sambalpur and spokesperson Sambit Patra from Puri, Odisha. The Sultanpur Lok Sabha seat will see Menaka Gandhi running, while Varun Gandhi's ticket from Pilibhit has been cut in favor of Jitin Prasad. In Jharkhand's Dumka, Sita Soren, who recently joined BJP, will be contesting. BJP has also axed the ticket of former Union Minister Anant Kumar Hegde from the North Kannada seat. Arun Govil, who is revered for his role as Lord Rama in the popular TV series 'Ramayan', has been given the ticket for the Meerut Lok Sabha seat. In a notable move, the BJP has cut the tickets of Union Ministers Ashwini Kumar Choubey and V.K. Singh, as well as MP Varun Gandhi, while Kangana Ranaut will be contesting from the Mandi seat in Himachal Pradesh. So far, BJP has deployed candidates for 402 seats.
Varun Gandhi's Ticket Cut, BJP Trusts Menaka Gandhi and Arun Govil
Starting with Uttar Pradesh, BJP has announced 13 more candidates in its fifth list, making a total of 64 names public. After allotting seats to allies, BJP itself will contest 75 seats. The party has cut the ticket of Varun Gandhi from Pilibhit. A new candidate has been given the chance in Barabanki after a video went viral. Menaka Gandhi is the choice for Sultanpur once again, while Arun Govil is to contest from Meerut on a BJP ticket. BJP has fielded Raghav Lakhanpal from Saharanpur, Sarvesh Singh from Moradabad, Atul Garg from Ghaziabad, Satish Gautam from Aligarh, Anoop Valmiki from Hathras (SC), Durvijay Singh Shakya from Badaun, Chatrapal Singh Gangwar from Bareilly, Menaka Gandhi from Sultanpur, Ramesh Awasthi from Kanpur, Rajrani Rawat from Barabanki (SC), Arvind Gond from Bahraich (SC).
Candidates Announced for 6 Seats in Andhra Pradesh
In Andhra Pradesh, BJP will contest for 6 seats. This seat-sharing formula was decided within the BJP-TDP-JSP alliance. BJP state president Purandeswari is to run from Rajahmundry, Kothapalli Geetha from Araku, CM Ramesh from Anakapalle, and former CM Kiran Kumar Reddy from Rajampet Lok Sabha.
K. Surendran to Challenge Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad
BJP has pitched its state president K. Surendran in Wayanad, Kerala, against Rahul Gandhi and CPI's Annie Raja. Although Surajendra had earlier reportedly declined to contest this year, he will be standing against the aforementioned opponents. BJP has announced candidates for 4 seats in Kerala, including Krishnakumar at Kollam. Krishnakumar, an actor, previously contested from Thiruvananthapuram in the 2021 assembly elections. Additionally, BJP named KS Radhakrishnan for Ernakulam and Dr. TN Sarasu for Alathur.
Gujarat Seats Get BJP Candidates
BJP has declared candidates for all 26 seats in Gujarat. Rajesh Chudasama is being repeated in Junagadh, while Dr. Hemang Joshi has been given a ticket in Vadodara. The party has chosen Shobhanaben Baraia for Sabarkantha, Haribhai Patel for Mehsana, Chandubhai Shihora for Surendranagar, and Bharatbhai Sutaria for Amreli. Six seat nominations have been announced for Gujarat.
Former Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay and Victim from Sandeshkhali Trusted by BJP
Ex-Kolkata High Court Judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay has been given a ticket by BJP for Tamluk seat in West Bengal. Rajmata Amrita Roy of Krishnanagar will compete against TMC's Mahua Moitra. Arjun Singh who has switched back to BJP from TMC will contest from Barrackpore. Former Bengal BJP president and MP from Medinipur, Dilip Ghosh, will stand from Bardhaman-Durgapur. Agnimithra Paul, BJP MLA from Asansol, will battle it out from Medinipur, while the victim from Sandeshkhali, Rekha Patra, will be contesting from Bashirhat. BJP's twice-elected MP from Bengal, SS Ahluwalia, has lost his ticket.
In Bihar, Ashwini Choubey Loses Ticket, Confidence Placed on Giriraj Singh
In Bihar, BJP's 17-seat candidate list has been released. This list sees the ticket of current MP from Buxar, Ashwini Choubey, cut. Vivek Thakur, senior BJP leader CP Thakur's son and Rajya Sabha MP, got the ticket from Nawada. Giriraj Singh remains the candidate from Begusarai. The party has given Mithilesh Tiwari the ticket for Buxar, replacing Ashwini Choubey. Chhedi Paswan's ticket from Sasaram has been cut in favor of Shivshankar Ram. Ajay Nishad has lost his ticket from Muzaffarpur to Raj Bhushan Chaudhary.
