Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari's father and senior BJP leader Sisir Kumar Adhikari will not be contesting in the upcoming elections from West Bengal’s Kanthi Lok Sabha seat. The decision has been taken in view of his old age.
The CPI(M) ruled the Kanthi Lok Sabha till 1999, when Trinamool's Nitish Sengupta beat its candidate. Prasanta Pradhan of the Left party won the next Lok Sabha election in 2004. However, Sisir Adhikari, a former Union Minister of Rural Development under the Manmohan Singh administration, won the Kanthi Lok Sabha seat from CPI(M) politician Prasanta Pradhan in 2009 and Tapas Sinha in 2014.
Earlier in 2021, Sisir Kumar Adhikari left TMC and joined BJP. Sisir Adhikari had been loyal to Trinamool Congress for 23 years but after being removed from the position of chairman of the Digha-Shankarpur Development Council and president of TMC’s district unit, joined the saffron party.
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BJP is expected to release its first list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2024 on Friday afternoon, BJP sources informed ABP News. The list is likely to be made public via press conference on Friday, where details of the candidates will be revealed.
According to party sources, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's name is expected to appear on the initial list. Additionally, the name of Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to be on the list.
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Candidates for numerous critical seats in Uttar Pradesh, including Varanasi, Ayodhya, Prayagraj, Azamgrah, and Gorakhpur, are expected to be announced in the first list.
Satyadev Pachauri, a sitting MP from Kanpur, is considered to be in doubt due to his age and local hostility.