Actor Anshuman Jha, known for his role in Love, Sex Aur Dhokha, tied the knot with his American girlfriend Sierra Winters in October 2022. The couple recently welcomed their baby girl, Tara, born on March 10 in the United States after a 32-hour labour for Sierra, a triathlete runner.

Anshuman expressed his gratitude, sharing that both Sierra and Tara are healthy and safe. The actor feels blessed and acknowledges the significant female influence in his life, making him matriarchal. He said, “We feel truly blessed to have an angel. I have been raised by my mother, my elder sister is the reason why I could pursue acting, and I have always had a lot of female influence in my life through my cousin sisters as well.”

Regarding the baby’s gender, Anshuman shared, “In the US, it is legal to find out if it is a girl or boy, but we intentionally didn’t find out because we wanted to have a surprise. And we are thrilled to have our daughter.” Sierra’s parents, Tara’s grandparents, were also present, and Sierra chose the name Tara.

The couple has decided not to share photos of their daughter at this stage of their life. Anshuman stated, “Some things don’t need to be shared. In a world that is obsessed with counting likes, followers – I count my blessings & keep it private.”

In the two lists that the BJP has released so far, the party has named 267 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, and nearly 21% of sitting MPs have already not been repeated from their respective constituencies. The strategy, sources said, has been designed keeping possible anti-incumbency in mind, and the decisions have been based on the feedback the party has got from the ground.

The choice of candidates is also important given the party’s target of winning 370 seats on its own in the Lok Sabha polls, due in just a few weeks from now, which will entail getting 67 more constituencies than it did in 2019. 

While the first list, released on March 2, saw only 33 MPs – including Pragya Thakur. Ramesh Bidhuri and Parvesh Verma- being replaced despite 195 candidates being named, Wednesday’s list of 72 saw 30 MPs being shown the door. 

Of the 267 names in the two lists, the number of sitting MPs repeated is high, at 140, and 67 MPs have not been given tickets. Two of these MPs, including Gautam Gambhir – who has been replaced in East Delhi by Harsh Malhotra – had decided not to contest. 

Numbers Game

In the second list, 20 names each have been declared from Maharashtra and Karnataka, seven from Gujarat, six each from Telangana and Haryana, five from Madhya Pradesh, two each from Delhi, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and one each from Dadra and Nagar Haveli. 

In Delhi, the BJP has replaced six of its sitting MPs and only one, Manoj Tiwari, has been repeated. 

Of the 20 candidates declared for Karnataka in the second list, 11 MPs have been replaced while only eight have been repeated.

The story in Maharashtra is the opposite, with 14 MPs being repeated and the tickets of only five getting cancelled. The MPs being repeated include Union Minister Nitin Gadkari from Nagpur, while Pritam Munde has been replaced by her sister, Pankaja Munde, in Beed. 

For Gujarat, in the second list, only three out of seven sitting MPs have been repeated. The omissions include Union Minister Darshana Jardosh, who has been replaced by Mukesh Dalal. 

Of the six candidates declared in Haryana in the second list, three sitting MPs have been repeated and two have been replaced. A new candidate has been named for a seat where the sitting MP has died. 

Telangana, where the BJP had won only four seats last time, has seen one MP being repeated and one ticket being cancelled. 

Of the five Madhya Pradesh candidates declared in the second list, two MPs have been repeated and two omitted. A new candidate, Vivek Sahu, will be fielded against Nakul Nath in the Chhindwara constituency, which was the only seat the BJP had lost in the state in 2019. 

Both MPs named for Himachal in the second list are getting a ticket again – including Union Minister Anurag Thakur from Hamirpur – while both from Uttarakhand have been replaced. 

Tripura has seen an MP being replaced while the Dadra And Nagar Haveli seat was won by the Shiv Sena last time. 

The BJP — long used to playing the supporting role to Nitish Kumar in Bihar —  has taken the lead for the first time and will spearhead the NDA attack in the state. The party will contest 17 of the state’s 40 seats, under a formula that was finalised today after the impasse with Chirag Paswan’s faction of the Lok Janshakti Party was resolved.

Mr Kumar’s Janata Dal United will field candidates on 16 seats, Chirag Paswan’s LJP will contest on five seats, Upendra Kushwaha and Jitan Ram Manjhi will contest on one seat each.

Chirag Paswan’s deal with the BJP came after a long impasse that was followed by claims that the Opposition bloc INDIA has been sending it feelers.  

While the BJP apparently offered him just six seats — to be split with his uncle Pashupati Paras — sources said the Opposition had offered LJP eight seats, all six it won in 2019 and two more in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh as bonus.

Chirag Paswan, who recently claimed that “Every Party, Every Coalition Wants Me To Be On Its Side,” settled for five seats today. But he made it clear after the meeting that his uncle Pashupati Paras would not be given any seat from his quota.

But sealing the deal is a huge plus for the BJP, which from a position of isolation imposed by Nitish Kumar’s defection to the  Grand Alliance, has suddenly found itself rich with his return.

But the party has made it clear that it was second to none — the one extra seat marking it as the alpha in the alliance.  

Even in 2019, the BJP and the JDU, after a silent and bitter face-off, had decided on a 50:50 formula and contested on an equal number of seats. The division was 17 seats each for the BJP and Mr Kumar’s Janata Dal United and six for Lok Janashakti Party, then led by Chirag Paswan’s father Ram Vilas Paswan.

The alliance had won 39 of the 40 seats — only one had gone to the Opposition.