Lok Sabha Elections 2024: BJP Releases First List of Names, Know Who Are Retained and Who Are Dropped

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has kickstarted its campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections by releasing its first list of candidates for 195 seats across 16 states. The announcement, made by BJP General Secretary Vinod Tawde, included nominations for 34 Union ministers, Lok Sabha speaker, and two former Chief Ministers. However, the omission of Maharashtra from the initial list has heightened suspense about the party's strategy in the state.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, set to contest from Varanasi, leads the list of prominent candidates. Home Minister Amit Shah will contest from Gandhinagar in Gujarat, where the BJP has maintained a stronghold since 1989. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is fielded from Lucknow. BJP fielded former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan from Vidisha and Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia will be contesting polls from Guna.

The list features candidates from various states, with 51 seats allocated for Uttar Pradesh, 20 for West Bengal, and significant representation from Madhya Pradesh (24 seats), Gujarat (15), Rajasthan (15), and other states. However, the BJP did not announce any candidate from Maharashtra. No final decision has been taken yet on seat-sharing with Shiv Sena and NCP. Therefore, the name of any candidate from Maharashtra did not appear in the first list.

Several notable omissions and changes were observed in the saffron party's initial candidate list. The party has dropped the name of Pragya Singh Thakur from the list. Additionally, Ramesh Bidhuri, BJP's sitting MP from South Delhi, and Meenakshi Lekhi, MP from New Delhi, were omitted from the party's initial candidate list. Meanwhile, A. K. Antony's son, Anil Antony, who defected from the Congress, will contest in Kerala.

Earlier, BJP Member of Parliament Jayant Sinha, representing Hazaribagh in Jharkhand, expressed his desire to step away from electoral responsibilities ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. This announcement closely follows another BJP leader, Gautam Gambhir, signalling his potential exit from electoral politics. Both MPs have urged BJP President JP Nadda to relieve them of their electoral duties to focus on other commitments.

In a statement posted on a social media platform (referred to as 'X'), Jayant Sinha explained his decision, stating, "I have requested Honourable Party President JP Nadda to relieve me of my direct electoral duties so that I can focus my efforts on combating global climate change in Bharat and around the world. Of course, I will continue to work with the party on economic and governance issues.

"I have requested Hon'ble Party President JP Nadda ji to relieve me of my political duties so that I can focus on my upcoming cricket commitments. I sincerely thank Hon'ble PM Narendra Modi for giving me the opportunity to serve the people. Jai Hind," Gambhir wrote on X.

The timing of these announcements coincides with speculation that both Sinha and Gambhir may not be fielded as candidates in the upcoming 2024 polls.

Here’s the BJP’s full list of candidates:

Leaders who did not make it to the first list of the BJP