The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has announced a first list of 195 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, where they are hoping to win 370 seats. The list includes 34 Union Ministers as the party put its best foot forward putting out the names even before the Election Commission announcing the poll schedule.
Here are the heavyweights in the party’s 1st list of candidates for 2024 elections:
Narendra Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will once again contest from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. He has already won from the constituency twice and will be hoping for a hattrick this time.
In 2014, PM Modi defeated Aam Aadmi Party chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and in 2019, he won against Samajwadi Party’s Shalini Yadav.
Amit Shah
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who had led the party to a thumping victory in the 2014 general elections, will contest from Gujarat’s Gandhinagar.
Rajnath Singh
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will contest from Lucknow in the upcoming elections.
Smriti Irani
After she pulled off a victory against Rahul Gandhi in Congress stronghold Amethi in 2019, Smriti Irani has once again been entrusted with the key constituency in Uttar Pradesh.
Jyotiraditya Scindia
Rajya Sabha MP Jyotiraditya Scindia will contest from Guna in Madhya Pradesh, a constituency the former Congress leader had held since 2002 until his loss to the BJP’s Krishna Pal Singh Yadav in 2019.
Shivraj Singh Chauhan
Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who wasn’t made the Madhya Pradesh chief minister despite the BJP’s stunning victory last year, seems to be headed for a national role as he will be contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Vidisha.
Kiren Rijiju
Kiren Rijiju, who currently holds the Earth Sciences portfolio, will contest from Arunachal West. Since the BJP came to power for a 2nd term in 2019, Rijiju has spearheaded several key ministries like Law and youth affairs.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar
Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has fielded by the BJP for a high-stakes battle in Thiruvananthapuram, a seat which is held by Congress’ Shashi Tharoor.
Mr Chandrasekhar, who is among the ministers not renominated to the Rajya Sabha, had recently told PTI that he is raring to contest his first Lok Sabha polls and looking forward to “an even more exciting phase” in his political career.
Hema Malini
Actor-politician Hema Malini has been again fielded from Mathura. In the 2014 and 2019 elections, the veteran Bollywood actor had registered emphatic victories with a margin of over 3 lakh votes both times.
Bhupender Yadav
A stalwart for the BJP in confronting challenges, Bhupender Yadav is stepping into his first Lok Sabha election after serving as a party office-bearer for over two decades. Mr Yadav, the BJP’s choice from Alwar in Rajasthan is recognized as a non-controversial figure who adeptly tackles issues.
The BJP won 303 seats in the 2019 polls but currently it has 290 members in Lok Sabha for various reasons including some MPs recently resigning after winning assembly polls.
The Election Commission is expected to announce the poll schedule later this month and the elections are likely to be held in April-May.
