The Bharatiya Janata Party has unveiled its first list of 195 Lok Sabha candidates for the upcoming elections, featuring names like PM Modi and 34 other central ministers. During a press conference, Vinod Tawde explained that the central election committee meeting headed by PM Modi on February 29 led to the final selection of candidates representing 16 states and 2 union territories, an announcement we are excited to share with you today. Tawde also affirmed that PM Modi will once again contest from Varanasi.
In addition, candidates including 34 ministers, 3 former Chief Ministers have been fielded by the party. BJP's initial roster highlights representation from Uttar Pradesh with 51 candidates, West Bengal 20, Madhya Pradesh 24, Gujarat 15, Rajasthan 15, Kerala 12, Telangana 9, Assam 11, Jharkhand 11, Chhattisgarh 11, Delhi 5, Jammu & Kashmir 2, Uttarakhand 3, Arunachal 2, Goa 1, Tripura 1, Andaman 1, and 1 from Daman and Diu. The first list also features 28 women, 27 SC, 18 ST, 57 OBC, and 47 young leaders who have been awarded tickets to contest in the Lok Sabha elections.
Amit Shah to contest from Gandhinagar once again
Minister Amit Shah will be contesting from Gandhinagar, while Mansukh Mandaviya is set for Porbandar, Rajnath Singh from Lucknow, Jitendra Singh from Udhampur, Kiren Rijiju from Arunachal East, Tapir Gao from Arunachal East, Smriti Irani from Amethi, Arjun Munda from Khunti, Sarbananda Sonowal from Dibrugarh, Assam, Sanjeev Balyan from Muzaffarnagar, Nisith Pramanik from Cooch Behar, Shripad Yesso Naik from North Goa, and more. From Gujarat, Vinod Chavda will contest from Kutch, Mansukh Vasava from Bharuch, and C.R. Patil from Navsari. In Chhattisgarh, Saroj Pandey is set for Korba, Vijay Baghel for Durg, and Brijmohan Agrawal for Raipur. Jugal Kishore Sharma will be the candidate for Jammu, while Manish Jaiswal will contest from Hazaribagh, which is currently represented by Jayant Sinha.
Five candidates declared for Delhi's Lok Sabha seats
The BJP has announced its candidates for the five Lok Sabha seats in Delhi. Praveen Khandelwal will contest from Chandni Chowk, Manoj Tiwari from North East Delhi, Bansuri Swaraj from Central Delhi, Kamaljeet Sehrawat from West Delhi, and Ramvir Bidhuri for South Delhi.
Shivraj Chouhan to contest Lok Sabha elections from Vidisha
In Madhya Pradesh, former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will contest from Vidisha, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia from Guna, V.D. Sharma from Khajuraho, and Alok Sharma from Bhopal are set as BJP's candidates.
Bhupendra Yadav to contest from Rajasthan's Alwar seat
In Rajasthan, the BJP has once again trusted Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal for the Bikaner seat. Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav will contest from Alwar. PP Chaudhary from Pali, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat from Jodhpur, Kailash Choudhary from Barmer, Om Birla from Kota, CP Joshi from Chittorgarh, and Dushyant Singh from Jhalawar have been finalized as BJP's candidates.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar to contest from Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram
BJP has fielded Dr. Abdul Salam from Mallapuram, Kerala, Suresh Gopi from Thrissur, and Central Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar from Thiruvananthapuram. Former Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb is ticketed for West Tripura.
BJP declares candidates for UP's 51 seats, 47 repeated from 2019 elections
BJP has announced candidates for 51 seats in Uttar Pradesh, with 47 incumbents from the 2019 elections getting re-nominated. Only 4 new candidates have been introduced. Dineshlal Yadav 'Nirahua' has been re-selected from Azamgarh, Ravi Kishan from Gorakhpur, Hema Malini once again from Mathura, and Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra Teni from Lakhimpur Kheri. BJP has changed candidates for the Jaunpur, Shravasti, Ambedkarnagar, and Nagina seats, introducing Om Kumar for Nagina. BSP defector Ritesh Pandey has been nominated from Ambedkarnagar, where he is the current MP. BJP has chosen Kripashankar Singh for Jaunpur and Saket Mishra for Shravasti.
