From Varun Gandhi To Pragya Thakur: 10 Big Faces Overlooked By Parties In Lok Sabha Elections

Many big leaders and sitting MPs have been shown the exit doors and have not been renominated by the parties.

Many big leaders and sitting MPs have been shown the exit doors and have not been renominated by the parties.

Source : PTI

Lok Sabha Elections: As the Lok Sabha elections approach, the political parties have stepped up their poll campaign and started releasing lists of candidates for the crucial elections. Many leaders across different party lines have been jumping ship, citing different reasons for their decisions. The parties have been declaring candidates for different seats with each passing day.

Many big leaders and sitting MPs are being shown the exit door by the parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress, and the Trinamool Congress. The decisions pertaining to Lok Sabha tickets show that the parties are trying their best to give opportunities to the candidates who have the best chance of winning. 

Here's A List Of Big Leaders and MPs Who Failed To Make The Cut

Meenakshi Lekhi: The BJP dropped Minister of State (MoS) Meenakshi Lekhi who is a sitting MP from the New Delhi Lok Sabha seat. She has been replaced with the daughter of former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's daughter, Bansuri Swaraj, who is all set to make her Lok Sabha debut.

Ramesh Bidhuri: The BJP dropped Ramesh Bidhuri from the South Delhi seat. He has been replaced with Ramvir Singh Bidhuri. Ramesh Bidhuri was in the news recently after he made abusive remarks against MP Danish Ali inside Parliament. 

Varun Gandhi: Sitting MP from Pilibhit, Varun Gandhi, has been dropped by the BJP from its list of Lok Sabha candidates. He has been replaced by former Congress leader Jitin Prasada, who joined the saffron party in 2021. It is to be noted that Varun Gandhi has been criticising the Yogi government in Uttar Pradesh for various reasons, including health and employment. 

Pragya Thakur: The BJP has dropped Pragya Thakur from its list of Lok Sabha candidates. She is currently Lok Sabha MP from Bhopal constituency. The saffron party has replaced her with Alok Sharma. Days after the BJP replaced her, Thakur said that she had apologised to Prime Minister Narendra Modi soon after her controversial remark about Nathuram Godse in 2019. She further stated that she has never asked for a ticket to contest an election and would do whatever the party asked her to. 

Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank: Former Uttarakhand CM Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has been dropped from the Haridwar seat, and has been replaced by Trivendra Singh Rawat. He has also served as Union Education Minister.

Ashwini Choubey: The BJP has also dropped Union Minister Ashwini Choubey from Bihar’s Buxar. He has been replaced by Mithilesh Tiwari. He has been serving as Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Environment, Forest and Climate Change in PM Modi's cabinet.

Parvesh Verma: The BJP has dropped Parvesh Verma, sitting MP from the West Delhi Lok Sabha constituency. The two-time MP has been replaced by Kamaljeet Sehrawat.

Sanghmitra Maurya: Sanghamitra Maurya, the BJP MP from Badaun, has been overlooked by the saffron party in the upcoming elections. She has been replaced with local leader Durvijay Singh Shakya. Maurya is the daughter of former UP Minister Swami Prasad Maurya, who left the BJP in 2022 and joined the Samajwadi Party. He left SP in 2024.

Nusrat Jahan: The Trinamool Congress has dropped actor Nusrat Jahan from the Basirhat Lok Sabha seat. She has been replaced with former MP Haji Nurul Islam. The recent violence that broke out in Sandeshkhali is seen as one of the key reasons behind Jahan’s omission from TMC’s candidate list.

Sunil Sharma: The Congress has dropped Sunil Sharma from the Jaipur Lok Sabha seat, and he has been replaced him with Pratap Singh Khachariyavas. Sharma was named in the party's third list of candidates but was replaced due to controversy over his alleged involvement with the Jaipur Dialogues, an organisation that often ridicules the grand old party and its leaders, including Rahul Gandhi.