New Delhi: In its latest move gearing up for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) unveiled its fifth roster of candidates, introducing prominent figures such as Naveen Jindal from Haryana’s Kurukshetra, actress Kangana Ranaut from Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi, and Arun Govil from Meerut.
Kangana Ranaut, a fervent admirer of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is poised for her electoral debut, while Arun Govil, renowned for his portrayal of Lord Ram in the iconic TV series Ramayan, steps into the political arena.
The announcement brought a notable change in Uttar Pradesh’s candidate lineup, with Varun Gandhi omitted while his mother, Maneka Gandhi, continues her campaign in Sultanpur.
In a strategic move, K Surendran has been nominated to contest from Wayanad, directly challenging Congress heavyweight Rahul Gandhi.
The BJP’s fifth list also introduces significant contenders such as Nityanand Rai from Ujiarpur, Ravi Shankar Prasad from Patna Sahib, Jagadish Shettar from Belagaum, Dharmendra Pradhan from Sambalpur, Sambit Patra from Puri, Jitin Prasada from Pilibhit, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay from Tamluk, and Dilip Ghosh from Bardhaman-Durgapur.
Prior to this, the BJP had unveiled its fourth list, focusing on seats in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu, featuring candidates like A Namassivayam from Puducherry, actor-politician Raadhika Sarathkumar from Virudhnagar, Pon V Balaganapathy from Tiruvallur (SC), RC Paul Kangaraj from Chennai North, and P Karthiyayini from Chidambaram (SC). Notably, former AIADMK leader P Karthiyayini joined the BJP in 2017.
Furthermore, the party’s third list, released on March 21, introduced former Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan as a candidate from Chennai South. Soundararajan had resigned from her gubernatorial post just days before.
BJP had kickstarted its candidate announcements on March 2 with its first list of 195 candidates, reaffirming Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s candidacy from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, for a third consecutive term. The party followed up with a second list of 75 candidates on March 13, including prominent figures like Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Anurag Singh Thakur, and Pralhad Joshi.
