Nitin Gadkari, ML Khattar, and Anurag Thakur Included in BJP’s Second List for Lok Sabha Election
New Delhi, INDIA (NDTV/DT) – The BJP unveiled its second list of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections today, following a brief delay due to a seat allocation issue in Bihar. The list features 72 names, including seasoned leaders like Union ministers Nitin Gadkari and Piyush Goyal, who is contesting elections for the first time, along with Anurag Singh Thakur.
Another notable inclusion is Manohar Lal Khattar, who stepped down from the post of Haryana Chief Minister recently. Additionally, former Chief Ministers Trivendra Singh Rawat and Basavaraj Bommai are also among the candidates fielded by the party.
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Sources said there was an eleventh-hour negotiation over one seat in Bihar.
Candidates have been declared for two seats in Delhi, seven seats in Gujarat, six seats in Haryana, two seats in Himachal Pradesh, 20 seats in Karnataka, 5 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 20 seats in Maharashtra, 6 seats in Telangana, one seat in Tripura and two seats in Uttarakhand. Candidates have also been announced for Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
In Delhi, the BJP has nominated two fresh candidates: Harsh Malhotra for the East Delhi constituency and Yogendra Chandolia for North West Delhi.
In Karnataka, where the party holds significant influence, the BJP is introducing approximately 10 new candidates following its major setback in the recent state assembly election.
Among the prominent figures, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi will contest from Dharwad, while former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa’s son, BY Raghavendra, will vie for the Shimoga seat.
Tejasvi Surya, the BJP’s youth wing chief, will seek re-election from Bengaluru South. Yaduveer Krishnadatta Wadiyar, from the former Mysore royal family, has replaced Pratap Simha as the candidate for the Mysore constituency.
In Maharashtra, the BJP has nominated Union ministers Nitin Gadkari and Piyush Goyal, along with former state minister Pankaja Munde, as its candidates. The party has revealed its choices for 20 out of the state’s 48 seats. After Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra contributes the second-highest number of MPs to the Lok Sabha.
Nitin Gadkari has been re-nominated from Nagpur, which serves as the headquarters of the BJP’s ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Among the eight new faces are Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, who will contest from Mumbai North, and Pankaja Munde, who will represent Beed. All Union ministers from Maharashtra have been renominated.
In Uttarakhand, BJP chief spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Anil Baluni has been nominated to contest from Garhwal.
Earlier this month, the BJP unveiled its initial list of over 190 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, scheduled for this summer.
Among the prominent names announced in that list were Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be contesting from Varanasi for the third consecutive time, as well as Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, who will be contesting from Gandhinagar and Lucknow, respectively. In total, the list included 34 Union ministers.
