The BJP on Sunday released its fifth list of Lok Sabha candidates, comprising 111 names from 17 states, including actress Kangana Ranaut from Himachal Pradesh's Mandi, Ramayan's Ram Arun Govil from UP's Meerut, former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi from UP's Sultanpur, and industrialist Naveen Jindal from Haryana's Kurukshetra.
Industrialist and two-time Congress MP Naveen Jindal and independent Haryana MLA Ranjit Chautala, the son of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal, joined the BJP on Sunday and have been fielded for the Lok Sabha elections. The joining came a day after the BJP's Central Election Committee approved their candidatures for the May 25 Lok Sabha election from Haryana's Kurukshetra and Hisar, respectively.
BJP's present Kurukshetra MP, Nayab Singh Saini, has been elevated as Chief Minister, and Brijendra Singh, who represented Hisar, has since joined the Congress.
Former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who quit the bench recently and joined the BJP, has been fielded from West Bengal's Tamluk seat.
Rekha Patra, who virtually became the face of the movement by Sandeshkhali women, will be the BJP candidate from the Basirhat Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, as per the party's fifth list announced on Sunday.
Other prominent candidates include Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan from Odisha's Sambalpur, former IAS officer Aparajita Sarangi from Bhubaneswar, party spokesman Sambit Patra from Puri, Andhra Pradesh unit chief D.Purandeswari from Rajahmundry, and former Andhra Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, who quit the Congress, from Rajampet.
In Bihar, the party has fielded Union Ministers R.K Singh from Arrah, Nityanand Rai from Ujiarpur, and Giriraj Singh from Begusarai. Former Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad from Patna Sahib, Rajiv Pratap Rudy from Saran, Radha Mohan Singh from Purvi Champaran, and Ram Kripal Yadav from Pataliputra also figure in the list.
JMM's Sita Soren, who recently joined the party, has been fielded from Dumka (ST).
Former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, who recently returned to the party from the Congress, has been fielded from Belgaum and former state minister K. Sudhakar from Chikballapur. In Kerala, state chief K. Surendran has been fielded from Wayanad, where Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is contesting.
Ex-IAF chief joins BJP
Former Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria (Retired) and former YSR Congress Party MP from Tirupati, Varaprasad Rao joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the national capital on Sunday.
They joined the BJP in the presence of BJP National General Secretary Vinod Tawde, Union Minister Anurag Thakur and BJP National Media Co-Head Sanjay Mayukh.
Union Minister Shri Anurag Thakur extended a warm welcome to Bhadauria and Varaprasad Rao into the BJP, acknowledging their extensive experience and decades-long service to the nation in their respective fields.
Thakur emphasised that millions of youth across the nation, envisioning a secure and prosperous India, pin their hopes and aspirations on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Tawde highlighted Bhadauria's significant contributions to PM Narendra Modi's 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' vision during his distinguished service in the Air Force.
YSR Congress denied the ticket to Varaprasad Rao for the forthcoming elections and he switched loyalties to BJP.
Sitting MP Varun Gandhi has been denied a ticket from UP's Pilibhit and UP minister Jitin Prasad fielded in his place. Longtime Bareilly MP and former Union Minister Santosh Gangwar has also been dropped and Chhatrapal Singh Gangwar was named the candidate.
The BJP has fielded Atul Garg from Ghaziabad, as sitting MP and Union Minister, Gen V.K. Singh (retd) expressed his unwillingness to contest the polls.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced the second list of candidates for 19 constituencies in West Bengal, throwing many surprises both in terms of selection of new candidates and re-nomination of sitting candidates from different constituencies.
The BJP has so far announced the names of candidates for 38 out of 42 constituencies in West Bengal.
