BJP gears up for polls, fields 7 MPs in Rajasthan

Tribune News Service

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, October 9

Hours after the Election Commission announced poll schedules for five states, the BJP unveiled its first list of 41 candidates for Rajasthan elections fielding seven sitting MPs in a state it hopes to wrest from the ruling Congress.

Nominees announced

BJP has announced 136 of MP’s 230 candidates; 85 of Chhattisgarh’s 90 and 41 of Rajasthan’s 200 till now

The BJP also declared the third list of 57 candidates for Madhya Pradesh poll fielding Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan from his home turf Budhni and Home Minister Narottam Mishra from Datia segment which he currently represents.

Chouhan has held Budhni since 2006 when he won the seat in a bypoll. He subsequently represented it in 2008, 2013 and 2018.

BJP’s Madhya Pradesh list accommodates all loyalists of Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia in signs of the latter’s growing clout.

Rajasthan elections are set to be interesting with the BJP fielding seven MPs including Rajsamand Lok Sabha member Diya Kumari from Vidyadhar Assembly seat currently held by Narpat Singh Rajvi, a five-time lawmaker and son-in-law of former vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. Diya Kumari hails from the Jaipur royalty.

Barring Vidyadhar, all other 40 seats where the BJP announced candidates today are the ones held by the Congress or other parties.

In Chhattisgarh, besides former CM Raman Singh, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Narayan Prasad Chandel has been re-nominated from Janjir-Champa.

The BJP has also fielded Chhattisgarhi actor Anuj Sharma from Dharsiwa in Raipur. Thirteen candidates who lost have been re-nominated and 11 sitting MLAs have been fielded again in the second list of Chhattisgarh.

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