The BJP on Wednesday released its second list of 72 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Notably, with replacing sitting MPs Gautam Gambhir, Hans Raj Hans and Dipsinh Magansinh Rathod among others, the BJP has fielded atleast 25 new faces.
In Delhi, the ruling party fielded Harsh Malhotra from the East Delhi Lok Sabha seat, dropping its sitting MP Gautam Gambhir, a former cricketer. For the North West Delhi constituency reserved for the Scheduled Caste, the party named Yogendra Chandolia as its candidate, dropping incumbent Hans Raj Hans, a singer.
The party fielded Bhikhaji Dudhaji Thakore from Sabarkantha, replacing its two-term MP Dipsinh Magansinh Rathod. For Bhavnagar seat, the party named Nimuben Bambhania, dropping its two-term MP Bhartiben Dhirubhai Shiyal.
The BJP fielded Jashubhai Bhilubhai Rathwa from the Chhota Udaipur Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat, instead of its sitting MP Gitaben Vajesingbhai Rathva. The party named Mukeshbhai Chandrakant Dalal as its candidate for Surat, dropping its three-term MP and Union minister Darshana Vikram Jardosh from the seat.
In Haryana, the BJP dropped its sitting MP Sunita Duggal to field Ashok Tanwar from the Sirsa seat, reserved for the Scheduled Caste. Tanwar, a former Congress leader, had recently joined the BJP after quitting the Aam Aadmi Party. From the Karnal Lok Sabha seat, the BJP fielded former Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, dropping sitting MP Sanjay Bhatia.
Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank dropped
The party also dropped its two-term MP and former Union minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank from the Haridwar seat to field former Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat. The BJP named Maharani Kriti Singh Debbarma as its candidate from Tripura East seat, instead of incumbent Rebati Tripura. In the first list of candidates released on March 2 for more than 190 Lok Sabha seats, the BJP had replaced at least 33 sitting MPs with new faces.
In its second list, the BJP named five new faces for the Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka. The party named Basavaraj Kyavator as its candidate from Koppal, drooping its two-term MP Sanganna Amarappa Karadi.
From Bellary in Karnataka which is reserved for the Scheduled Tribe, the BJP fielded B Sriramulu, instead of its sitting MP Y Devendrappa. The party named former Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai as its candidate from Haveri, dropping its three-term MP Shivkumar Chanabasappa Udasi from the seat.
For the Dakshina Kannada seat, the BJP named Capt Brijesh Chowta as its candidate for the Lok Sabha polls, instead of Nalin Kumar Kateel who held the seat for the last three consecutive terms.
The party dropped its two-term MP Pratap Simha to field Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar from the Mysore Lok Sabha seat. It named S Balaraj as its candidate for the Chamarajanagar Lok Sabha seat, instead of its six-term MP Srinivasa Prasad.
In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP gave party ticket to Savitri Thakur from the Dhar seat, instead of Chhatar Singh Darbar who has been holding the seat for the last three terms. The party named Bharti Pardhi as its candidate from Balaghat seat, instead of its sitting MP Dal Singh Bisen.
In Maharashtra, the BJP replaced its sitting MPs with new faces in five Lok Sabha seats. The party named Smita Wagh as its candidate from Jalgaon, dropping its sitting MP Unmesh Bhaiyyasaheb Patil from the seat. The BJP's two-term MP from Mumbai North Gopal Chinayya Shetty was dropped to field Union minister Piyush Goyal from the seat.
The BJP named Anup Dhorte as its candidate from Maharashtra’s Akola Lok Sabha seat, instead of Sanjay Shamrao Dhotre who is the sitting MP. The BJP dropped its sitting MP Manoj Kishorebhai Kotak from Mumbai North East to field Mihir Kotecha from the seat. For the Beed Lok Sabha seat, the party named Pankaja Munde as its candidate, instead of her sister Pritam Gopinath Rao Munde who has been holding the seat for the last two terms.
In Telangana, the BJP dropped its sitting MP Soyam Babu Rao to field Godam Nagesh from the Adilabad seat, which is reserved for the Scheduled Caste. The BJP fielded its chief spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Anil Baluni from Garhwal, instead of incumbent Tirath Singh Rawat, a former Uttarakhand chief minister.
