The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday unveiled Gejja Ram Valmiki as its candidate for the Fatehgarh Sahib Lok Sabha seat, a reserved Schedule Caste constituency. Valmiki is the Chairman of the Punjab Raj Safai Karmachari Commission and he is also the National President of Central Valmiki Sabha India. With this, now BJP has declared its candidates on all 13 seats of Punjab.
This announcement comes amidst a flurry of nomination filings from various political contenders in Punjab.
Lok Sabha Elections 2024: BJP's Hans Raj Hans, Taranjit Singh Sandhu File Nominations
Hans Raj Hans, the BJP's candidate from the Faridkot seat, alongside Congress nominee Kulbir Singh Zira from Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat, submitted their nomination papers on Thursday. Additionally, Punjab Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Jasvir Singh Garhi entered the electoral fray by filing his nomination from the Anandpur Sahib parliamentary constituency.
Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat lent support to Hans Raj Hans as he filed his nomination in Faridkot district. Hans Raj Hans, a sitting MP from the North West Delhi seat, is set to contest against AAP's Karamjit Anmol, Congress party's Amarjit Kaur Sahoke, and Shiromani Akali Dal nominee Rajwinder Singh in the Faridkot reserve seat.
Taranjit Singh Sandhu, the Bharatiya Janata Party's candidate for the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat and a former diplomat, took a significant step forward on Friday as he filed his nomination papers for the June 1 elections. Sandhu, accompanied by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and other BJP leaders, held a roadshow before submitting his papers in Amritsar.
Expressing optimism about Sandhu's electoral prospects, Jaishankar conveyed, "We have full confidence that the people of Amritsar will elect him and send him to Delhi (Parliament). He will be a very good MP in Parliament. He is the most popular ambassador of India." He further added, "He served the country a lot and now he will serve Amritsar", news agency PTI reported.
Highlighting Sandhu's suitability for the role, Jaishankar emphasised, "If Punjab's side and Amritsar's interest have to be put forward, you cannot choose a better man than Taranjit Singh Sandhu", as per PTI.
Former MLA and Congress candidate Kulbir Singh Zira also filed his nomination papers in Tarn Taran district, accompanied by his family members. Zira is gearing up to face AAP's Laljit Singh Bhullar, BJP candidate Manjit Singh Manna Mianwind, radical preacher Amritpal Singh, and SAD's Virsa Singh Valtoha in the Khadoor Sahib seat.
Thursday witnessed a total of 28 candidates filing their nomination papers across the state, as informed by Punjab Chief Electoral Officer Sibin C. While the nomination process commenced on May 7, a total of 61 candidates have entered the electoral arena for the June 1 Lok Sabha polls in Punjab.
The nomination process will persist until May 14, followed by scrutiny on May 15, and the final date for withdrawal of nominations is May 17.