Lok Sabha Election 2024: BJP Replaces Sitting MPs In Manipur, Rajasthan In 6th List, Check Names

The BJP on Tuesday released its sixth list announcing Lok Sabha candidates for Manipur and Rajasthan dropping sitting MPs from the seats in Manipur and Rajasthan

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has announced its latest list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, dropping sitting MPs from the seats in Manipur and Rajasthan they won in 2019.  In Manipur's Inner Manipur constituency, Thounaojam Basanta Kumar Singh, a minister in the state government, has been nominated in place of Union Minister Rajkumar Ranjan Singh. Meanwhile, in Rajasthan, Indu Devi Jatav and Kanhaiya Lal Meena have been selected to contest from Karauli-Dholpur and Dausa respectively, replacing sitting MPs Manoj Rajoria and Jaskaur Meena.

With this announcement, the BJP has now declared candidates for 405 out of the 543 Lok Sabha seats.

Lok Sabha Election 2024: Sitting MPs Dropped, Surprise Faces Introduced In BJP's Previous List 

The party in its fifth list of 111 candidates dropped prominent figures, including Union Ministers Ashwini Kumar Choubey and V K Singh, as well as MP Varun Gandhi. However, it fielded actors Kangana Ranaut and Arun Govil in the electoral fray.

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan will contest from Sambalpur, while the party's spokesperson Sambit Patra will try his luck again from Puri. The BJP has denied tickets to nearly 37 incumbent MPs, including nine from Uttar Pradesh, five from Gujarat, and four each from Odisha, Bihar, Karnataka, and Jharkhand.

In a significant move, the BJP has named candidates for all 17 seats it is contesting in Bihar, including renominating Union Minister Giriraj Singh from Begusarai and former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad from Patna Sahib. Additionally, the party has finalized candidates for all six Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh, contesting in alliance with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Jana Sena.

Among the notable inclusions are industrialist Naveen Jindal, former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, and veteran actor Arun Govil, renowned for his portrayal of Lord Ram in the TV serial Ramayan. The BJP has also fielded Sita Soren, the sister-in-law of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, from Dumka, after her recent exit from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha.

With the nomination of these candidates, the BJP aims to consolidate its position and secure victory in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, scheduled to be held between April 19 and June 1.