The BJP released its first list of 195 Lok Sabha candidates on Saturday, featuring 34 ministers who will run in the 2024 general elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will contest from Varanasi, Home Minister Amit Shah from Gandhinagar, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh from Lucknow. Additionally, three former Chief Ministers - Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Sarbananda Sonowal, and Biplab Kumar Deb - are given tickets to contest from Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh, Dibrugarh in Assam, and West Tripura respectively.
Harsh Vardhan, Meenakshi Lekhi, and Ramesh Bidhuri Lose BJP Tickets
Several incumbent MPs, including former Health Minister Harsh Vardhan from Chandni Chowk in Delhi, have had their tickets cut by the BJP. The party has named Praveen Khandelwal as the candidate from Chandni Chowk and Bansuri Swaraj in place of Meenakshi Lekhi, the incumbent MP from Central Delhi.
Sadhvi Pragya Replaced by Alok Sharma for Bhopal Ticket
Jyotiraditya Scindia overcomes his previous defeat in his stronghold of Guna, as BJP nominates him for the election, whereas the often controversial Sadhvi Pragya loses her ticket from Bhopal, which will now be represented by Alok Sharma. In West Bengal, John Barla, the sitting MP from Alipurduar and State Minister for Minority Affairs, has been replaced by two-time MLA Manoj Tigga.
Rameshwar Teli Dropped from Dibrugarh Ticket by BJP
In Assam, current MP Rameshwar Teli's ticket from Dibrugarh has been cut. Instead, BJP has named Sarbananda Sonowal as its candidate for Dibrugarh. For South Delhi, BJP replaces sitting MP Ramesh Bidhuri with Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, current MLA from Badarpur and Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly.
View the complete BJP list for the Lok Sabha elections here:
