BJP First List of 195 Candidates: 42 MPs Dropped, Here are 3 Key Takeaways

BJP has replaced a large number of candidates in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Assam.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over a high-level meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and NSA Ajit Doval on Tuesday, 29 June to discuss futuristic defence challenges.

(Photo: The Quint)

The Bharatiya Janata Party announced its first list of 195 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The party's list includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah from Gandhinagar in Gujarat, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh among 30 other ministers.

Three former chief ministers have also been fielded: Sarbananda Sonowal from Dibrugarh (Assam), Shivraj Singh Chouhan from Vidisha (Madhya Pradesh) and Biplab Kumar Deb from Tripura West.

Here are some of the other key takeaways.

42 MPs Replaced

As many as 42 of the candidates who were elected to Parliament in 2019, have been replaced.

Delhi

• Some of the biggest surprises are in Delhi. In New Delhi, the party has replaced Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi with Bansuri Swaraj, daughter of Late Sushma Swaraj.

• Pravesh Verma has been replaced by councillor Kamaljeet Sehrawat in West Delhi.

• In Chandni Chowk, former health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan has been replaced by Praveen Khandelwal, a prominent figure among traders.

• South Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri, who made hate remarks in Parliament has been replaced by Ramvir Singh Bidhuri.

• Sources in the BJP say that this isn't a demotion for Verma, Bidhuri and perhaps even Lekhi and that they might be fielded in the Assembly elections in 2025.

• The only BJP MP to retain his seat so far is actor Manoj Tiwari. East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir has already opted out.

Assam

• The BJP has dropped as many as 5 MPs in Assam. Former CM Sarbananda Sonowal replaces Rameshwar Teli in Dibrugarh.

• The BJP has also replaced its sitting MPs in Silchar, Autonomous District, Gauhati and Tezpur.

Madhya Pradesh

• The biggest changes in candidates has taken place in Madhya Pradesh where 11 out of the BJP's 28 MPs from the state in 2019, have been replaced.

• Most prominent changes are the inclusion of former CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Vidisha and Congress-turned-BJP leader Jyotiraditya Scindia in Guna and the dropping of Sadhvi Pragya in Bhopal.

• However, some of the MPs replaced include those who had already resigned and become MLAs in the 2023 Assembly elections, like Narendra Singh Tomar

Chhattisgarh

Seven seats that had sent BJP MPs will now see new candidates this time: Sarguja, Raigarh, Janjgir Champa, Bilaspur, Raipur, Mahasamund, Kanker. Like MP, this includes seats where the MPs had already resigned and become MLAs.

Gujarat

Sitting MPs from Banaskantha, Ahmedabad West, Rajkot, Porbandar, and Panchmahal have been dropped. Union minister Mansukh Mandaviya will now contest from Porbandar.

Jharkhand

Sitting MPs from Lohardaga and Hazaribagh have been dropped. Hazaribagh MP Jayant Sinha had already announced that he won't be contesting and will focus on a career in climate change policy.

Rajasthan

• The candidates who had won from Churu, Alwar, Bharatpur, Jalore, Udaipur, Banswara have been replaced.

• In Alwar, MP Mahant Balaknath became an MLA in the Rajasthan Assembly in December 2023. Senior Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav will now be contesting from Alwar.

• Congress turncoat Mahendrajit Singh Malviya has been accommodated in Banswara.

• Another recent entrant from the Congress Jyoti Mirdha has been fielded from Nagaur. Last time the BJP had backed RLP's Hanuman Beniwal from the seat. An alliance with Beniwal seems unlikely this time.

Tripura: Former CM Biplab Deb replaces Union Minister Pratima Bhowmik in Tripura West.

West Bengal: John Barla has been replaced by Manoj Tigga in Alipurduars. Barla is the Union MoS for minority affairs.

Ministers to lose their seats include Meenakshi Lekhi, John Barla and Pratima Bhowmik.

Uttar Pradesh: Many MPs Renominated, Ajay Mishra 'Teni' Makes the Cut

• BJP declared over 50 candidates in Uttar Pradesh. So far no sitting MP has been dropped.

• Besides PM Modi and Rajnath Singh, the BJP's list from UP includes sitting MPs like Union Minister Smriti Irani and filmstars Hema Malini, Ravi Kishen and Dinesh Yadav Nirahua.

• An interesting choice among the BJP candidates is Kripa Shankar Singh from Jaunpur. Singh was a minister in Maharashtra when he was in the Congress.

• Union MoS Ajay Mishra 'Teni' has been renominated from Lakhimpur Kheri. His son Ashish Mishra is accused of mowing down farmers during the 2020-21 farmers protest.

Major Focus on the South

Kerala

• The BJP chose to declare a majority of its candidate from Kerala, perhaps as a way to give them sufficient time to campaign in a state where the BJP is desperate to open its account.

• Among the most important candidates for the party are Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar from Thiruvananthapuram. He will be taking on Congress heavyweight Shashi Tharoor.

• The BJP has fielded actor Suresh Gopi from Thrissur against TN Prathapan of the Congress. BJP has fielded senior Congress leader AK Antony's son Anil Antony from Pathanamthitta.

• The BJP's sole Muslim candidate in the first list of 195 is from Malappuram in Kerala - Dr Abdul Salam.

Telangana

• In Telangana too, the BJP has balanced between loyalists and turncoats from other parties. It has renominated Bandi Sanjay from Karimnagar, Union Minister G Kishan Reddy from Secunderabad and Dharmapuri Arvind from Nizamabad.

• The party has fielded former BRS leaders BB Patil from Zahirabad, Eatala Rajender from Malkajgiri and P Bharat (son of former BRS MP P Ramulu) from Nagarkurnool.

• In Chevella, the BJP has fielded former Congress leader Konda Vishweshwar Reddy.

• The selection of former BRS leaders reflects the BJP's plan to squeeze the BRS and emerge as the main Opposition to the ruling Congress in the state.