In preparation for the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP unveiled its fifth list of candidates this Sunday. The biggest revelation is the candidacy of Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut. The party has fielded her from the Mandi constituency in Himachal Pradesh. In addition, TV's revered 'Shriram' Arun Govil will also step into the electoral fray, nominated from the Meerut constituency. Meanwhile, in a significant move, Varun Gandhi has been dropped by the party this time from the Pilibhit seat.
Varun Gandhi's ticket cut, Jitin Prasada gets the bet
The Bharatiya Janata Party announced its candidates for 111 parliamentary constituencies on Sunday evening. In a list full of surprises released just before the Holi festival, BJP nominated Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh. Industrialist and former Congress MP Naveen Jindal also features in this list. Notably, he joined the BJP just an hour after resigning from the Congress and has been positioned to contest from the Kurukshetra seat. Additionally, the party has backed TV's iconic Ram Arun Govil for the battle in the elections and has given the Pilibhit seat to former Congress leader Jitin Prasada.
BJP fields candidates in these UP seats
The BJP has nominated Raghav Lakhanpal for Saharanpur, Sarvesh Singh for Moradabad, Arun Govil for Meerut, Atul Garg for Ghaziabad, Satish Gautam for Aligarh, Anoop Valmiki for Hathras (SC), Durvijay Singh Shakya for Badaun, Chatrapal Singh Gangwar for Bareilly, Jitin Prasada for Pilibhit, Menaka Gandhi for Sultanpur, Ramesh Awasthi for Kanpur, Rajrani Rawat for Barabanki(SC), and Arvind Gond for Bahraich (SC).
The complete list of BJP candidates by constituency
General VK Singh's ticket from Ghaziabad clipped, Atul Garg chosen as candidate
The BJP, in releasing its fifth list, has cut the election prospects of several heavyweights. It has clipped the wings of the traditionally rebellious MP of Pilibhit, Varun Gandhi. Furthermore, replacing two-time MP from Ghaziabad, General VK Singh, the BJP has nominated Atul Garg. However, prior to the list's release, General VK Singh had already announced on social media his intention to contest the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
BJP nominates candidates for four Haryana seats
BJP has rolled out its candidates for four constituencies in Haryana. Particularly interesting picks are Naveen Jindal and Ranjit Chautala, who both joined the BJP just about an hour before the list was announced. BJP has fielded Naveen Jindal from Kurukshetra, Ranjit Chautala from Hisar, Mohan Lal Badoli from Sonipat, and Arvind Kumar Sharma from Rohtak.
Just an hour after resigning from Congress, Naveen Jindal gets BJP ticket for Kurukshetra
It's worth noting that on Sunday itself, Naveen Jindal resigned from Congress. Shortly after the announcement of his resignation, he joined the BJP. In a social media post, he expressed gratitude towards the leadership of Congress and former PM Manmohan Singh and thanked them. There had been speculation about Jindal's switch to the BJP, and by Sunday evening, after his resignation, he officially became part of the BJP.
BJP fields candidates in 17 Bihar seats, full names released
In Bihar, the BJP has announced its candidates for 17 seats. The incumbent MP from Buxar, Ashwini Chaubey, has been dropped this time. BJP has given the chance to Vivek Thakur from Nawada. Once again, Giriraj Singh is the candidate from Begusarai. The speculation surrounding seats and candidates within the BJP has now been settled. Prominent BJP leaders like Radha Mohan Singh, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Nityanand Rai, Janardan Singh Sigriwal, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Ram Kripal Yadav, and RK Singh have been re-nominated from their respective constituencies. Finally, after much anticipation, the Nawada constituency has gone to Vivek Thakur.
