Gadkari, Khattar In BJP’s Second List Of 72 Candidates

On Wednesday, the BJP released its second list of 72 candidates, including Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections after wrapping up its second central election committee (CEC) in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top leaders from the party.

The ministers to get tickets in the second list include Minister of Road Transport and Highways of India Nitin Jairam Gadkari from Nagpur (Maharashtra), Minister of Information and Broadcasting of India and sitting MP Anurag Singh Thakur from Hamirpur (Himachal Pradesh), incumbent MP Pralhad Joshi from Dharwad (Karnataka), and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal from Mumbai North Lok Sabha seat.

Former Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khatter has been fielded from the Karnal Lok Sabha seat.

In Uttarakhand, Anil Baluni is nominated to contest from the Garhwal seat, while former chief minister of Uttarakhand Trivendra Singh Rawat will contest from Haridwar.

Tripura East (ST reserved) will see Maharani Kriti Singh standing for elections as the BJP candidate. Incumbent MP Kalaben Delkar will contest from the Dadar and Nagar Haveli Lok Sabha seats.

Candidates have been announced for 20 seats each from the states of Karnataka and Maharashtra, seven from Gujarat, six seats each from Haryana and Telangana, five from Madhya Pradesh, and two from Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. One seat from Tripura and Dadar and Nagar Haveli Lok Sabha seat were also announced.

According to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Gadkari’s name was missing from the first list as discussions regarding seat-sharing between the BJP and its allies were ongoing.

No candidates from Andhra Pradesh have been announced so far. Discussions around selecting eight candidates for Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh included names such as D. Purandeswari, Y. Satya Kumar, and former CM Kiran Kumar Reddy are being tossed around, as per an Economic Times report. While discussions on an alliance with the BJP in Odisha are being considered, the saffron party has joined hands with the Telugu Desam Party and Jana Sena for Lok Sabha and assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh.

The first list announced by the party on March 2 saw 34 central government ministers, including PM Modi from Varanasi, Home Minister Amit Shah from Gandhinagar, Rajnath Singh from Lucknow, and Smriti Irani from Amethi, being fielded for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. In total, around 195 candidates were listed on the first list after the first CEC meeting was wrapped up.