Prepared for the impending 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP unveiled its fifth list of candidates, totalling 402 declarations. Notable inclusions featured the party’s resolve to contest 64 out of 74 seats in Uttar Pradesh, with prominent personalities like Kangana Ranaut from Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, and Arun Govil, renowned for portraying Lord Ram, from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.
In this latest roster of 111 candidates, the BJP refrained from nominating several MPs, including seven from Uttar Pradesh and four from Bihar. Significant omissions included Union ministers VK Singh from Ghaziabad and Ashwini Chaubey from Buxar. Varun Gandhi’s name was absent, and UP minister Jitin Prasada was assigned Pilibhit to contest, while Varun’s mother, Maneka Gandhi, will vie for Sultanpur.
Moreover, in West Bengal, the BJP transferred the seat of its former president Dilip Ghosh from Medinipur to Bardhaman-Durgapur, with Agnimitra Paul now contending from Medinipur. Late entrants to the BJP were promptly accommodated, such as former Calcutta High Court Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay vying for Tamluk, industrialist Naveen Jindal from Kurukshetra, and Haryana minister Ranjit Chautala from Hisar. Additionally, BJP MLA Tapas Roy, who defected from the TMC, will compete from Kolkata Uttar, while Sita Soren will contest from Dumka. Arjun Singh, returning to the BJP from the TMC, secured a ticket from Barrackpur.
In Bihar, the BJP retained several prominent figures, including Ravi Shankar Prasad, RK Singh, Giriraj Singh, Ram Krupa Yadav, Nityanand Rai, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Sanjay Jaiswal, and Radha Mohan Singh. All 17 Bihar candidates were announced following a seat-sharing agreement with the JDU and LJP. K Surendran from the BJP will challenge Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad. After unsuccessful negotiations with the BJD, the BJP declared all 21 candidates in Odisha, including Sambit Patra from Puri and Aparajita Sarangi from Bhubaneswar, two seats where an agreement couldn’t be reached between the BJP and BJD.
A significant battle will transpire in West Bengal’s Krishnanagar, where BJP’s Rajmata Amrita Roy will vie against TMC’s Mahua Moitra. Additionally, Rekha Patra, a victim from Sandeshkhali, clinched the BJP ticket from Basirhat.
