New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made waves on Wednesday with the release of its second list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Among the 72 names revealed, prominent figures include Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Anurag Singh Thakur, Pralhad Joshi, and Piyush Goyal.
Anurag Singh Thakur has been nominated to contest from Himachal Pradesh’s Hamipur seat, Gadkari from Nagpur, Pralhad Joshi from Dharwad, Piyush Goyal from Mumbai North, MoS Shobha Karandlaje from Bangalore North, Tejasvi Surya from Bangalore South, and Trivendra Singh Rawat from Haridwar.
Former Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar, who recently stepped down, will vie for the Karnal Lok Sabha seat. Meanwhile, former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Ashok Tanwar has switched sides to contest as a BJP candidate from Sirsa.
The list also includes Rao Inderjit Singh Yadav from Gurgaon, Minister of State of Heavy Industries Kishan Pal Gurjar from Faridabad, Pankaja Munde from Beed in Maharashtra, MoS Bharati Pravi Pawar from Dindori, Raosaheb Dadarao Danve from Jalna, and Sudhir Mungantiwar from Chandrapur.
Notably, Mysore MP Pratap Simha, who was involved in the Parliament security breach incident, has been replaced by Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar.
In Delhi, the BJP has opted to replace six out of its seven sitting MPs, with Harsh Malhotra set to contest from East Delhi and Yogendra Chandolia from North West Delhi.
Vivek Sahu, a BJP leader, will go head-to-head with former MP CM Kamal Nath’s son Nakul Nath in Chhindwara.
The BJP’s Central Election Committee convened for its second meeting on Monday, meticulously reviewing candidates for the Lok Sabha elections. Senior leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, extensively deliberated over the list of probables from various states to make their final selections.
In its initial list, the BJP had announced candidates for 195 seats across 16 states and two Union territories. However, controversy ensued as two candidates, Bhojpuri singer-actor Pawan Singh and Upendra Rawat, withdrew their nominations.
The party’s top strategists, including Home Minister Amit Shah and JP Nadda, engaged in a series of consultations with state leaders to finalize the list of candidates before the CEC reached its ultimate decision.
