The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has released its second list of 72 candidates from 11 states for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. This includes an additional seven candidates from Gujarat, bringing the total number of declared candidates from the state to 22 out of 26 seats.
The new candidates from Gujarat include:
- Bhikhaji Thakor (Aravalli District President) from Sabarkantha
- Hasmukh Patel (MP) from Ahmedabad East
- Nimuben Bambhania (Junagadh City In-charge) from Bhavnagar
- Ranjanben Bhatt (MP) from Vadodara
- Jashubhai Rathwa (Former BJP President of Chhota Udepur) from Chhota Udepur (ST)
- Mukesh Dalal (General Secretary Surat City BJP) from Surat
- Dhaval Patel (BJP ST Morcha National SM Incharge) for Valsad (ST)
The party has also fielded Kalaben Delkar for the Dadra Nagar Haveli Lok Sabha seat, located adjacent to South Gujarat. The party is yet to announce candidates for Amreli, Junagadh, Mahesana and Surendranagar.
Furthermore, Manohar Lal Khattar, who recently resigned as the Chief Minister of Haryana, will be contesting from the Karnal constituency. Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Anurag Thakur have been fielded from Mumbai North and Himachal Pradesh’s Hamirpur respectively, while Pankaja Munde will represent Maharashtra’s Beed.
Earlier on March 2, the BJP released its first list of 195 candidates from 16 states and two Union Territories. This list included Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be contesting from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Home Minister Amit Shah, who will be representing Gandhinagar in Gujarat. The first list also featured 34 Union ministers and two former chief ministers.
As the announcement of the election dates draws near, the BJP is approaching the elections with unprecedented confidence. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set an ambitious target of winning 370 seats for the party on its own and over 400 seats for the NDA coalition.
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