The Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP)’s second list of 72 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections was announced on Wednesday. The list included several surprises, including fielding Union Minister Piyush Goyal and former Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who resigned on Tuesday from Karnal and Mumbai North respectively.
The ruling party also dropped several sitting MPs including former Union ministers Sadananda Gowda and Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’.
The Haveri MP and BJP leader Shivkumar Udasi was dropped from his seat which he held since 2009. Former Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai replaced him.
Ramesh Pokhriyal was also not given a ticket from his constituency Haridwar. Former Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat replaced him.
BJP chief spokesperson Anil Baluni will also be fighting his first Lok Sabha poll as the BJP fielded him from Garhwal, replacing former Uttarakhand chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat.
In the Beed constituency in Maharashtra, Pankaja Munde has replaced her sister and incumbent MP Pritam Munde.
Delhi: BJP drops 6 MPs out of 7
The BJP declared former mayors Harsh Malhotra and Yogendra Chandolia as the candidates from East Delhi and North West Delhi seats, respectively for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, dropping the party’s sitting MPs Gautam Gambhir and Hans Raj Hans.
With this, the BJP has named candidates for all seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital, dropping six incumbents.
In its first list, the BJP announced the candidates on five of the seven Lok Sabha seats. Except for Manoj Tiwari, two-time MP from North East Delhi, the BJP has replaced six of its sitting MPs with new names.
Gujarat: Five MPs dropped
BJP announced names of seven more candidates in Gujarat, which has 26 Lok Sabha seats, dropping five sitting MPs, including junior Railway minister Darshana Jardosh, and replacing them with new faces.
Instead of Jardosh, a three-time Member of Parliament, the party has chosen Mukesh Dalal for the Surat Lok Sabha constituency.
Four other sitting MPs who have been denied tickets are — Dipsinh Rathod from Sabarkantha, KC Patel from Valsad, Bhartiben Shiyal from Bhavnagar and Geetaben Rathwa from Chhota Udepur.
Maharashtra: Eight MPs dropped
Pankaja Munde (Beed) were among eight fresh faces in the list. Pankaja replaced her younger sister and sitting MP Pritam Munde in Beed, the family stronghold.
Another new face in the second list was state forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar (Chandrapur). Besides, all Union ministers from Maharashtra were given tickets again.
The party replaced Jalgaon Lok Sabha member Unmesh Patil by fielding local leader Smita Wagh. Anup Dhotre replaced his father and sitting Akola MP Sanjay Dhotre in the list.
Tripura: BJP names Tipra Motha chief’s sister
The BJP announced that Maharani Kriti Singh Debbarma, a member of the erstwhile royal family of Tripura, will contest the Lok Sabha election from the East Tripura (ST) constituency. Kriti Singh Debbarma is also the sister of Pradyot Debbarma, the scion of the royal family and founder of the Tipra Motha, which joined the BJP-led government in the northeastern state earlier this month.
(With PTI inputs)
Also read: BJP releases second list of 72 candidates for Lok Sabha elections, fields Gadkari, Khattar and Piyush Goyal
