1. PM Narendra Modi confirmed to contest Lok Sabha polls from Varanasi, BJP announces.
2. BJP releases an initial list featuring 195 candidates, including 34 ministers.
3. Varanasi candidacy marks PM Modi’s third run from the constituency.
New Delhi, March 03: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi, as announced by the BJP on Saturday. The party unveiled its first list of 195 candidates, which includes 34 ministers.
This marks PM Modi’s third consecutive candidacy from the Varanasi constituency. He secured victories in 2014 against AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal and in 2019 against Samajwadi Party’s Shalini Yadav.
The announcement follows a late-night meeting at PM Modi’s residence earlier in the week, where final decisions regarding candidates were made.
According to BJP National General Secretary Vinod Tawde, the first list comprises 28 women, 27 candidates from the SC category, 18 from the ST category, and 57 from the OBC category.
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Key Figures in the First List:
- Union Home Minister Amit Shah will contest from Gujarat’s Gandhinagar.
- Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will run from the Porbandar seat.
- Union Earth Sciences Minister Kiren Rijiju will contest from Arunachal West, Tapir Gao from Arunachal East, and Bishnu Pada Ray from Andaman and Nicobar.
- Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will contest from Assam’s Dibrugarh.
- Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been fielded from Vidisha, while Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia will run from Guna.
- In Kerala, Union Ministers V Muraleedharan and Rajeev Chandrasekhar are candidates from Attingal and Thiruvananthapuram, respectively.
- Rajasthan’s lineup includes Union Ministers Arjun Ram Meghwal (Bikaner), Bhupendra Yadav (Alwar), and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (Jodhpur), among others.
- Uttar Pradesh sees former BSP MP Ritesh Pandey contesting from Ambedkar Nagar, along with repeat candidates like Hema Malini, Ravi Kishan, Ajay Mishra Teni, Mahesh Sharma, SPS Baghel, and Sakshi Maharaj.
The BJP’s candidate selection underscores a mix of experienced leaders and new faces, reflecting the party’s strategy for the upcoming elections.
