Smriti Irani, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Rajeev Chandrashekhar: BJP heavyweights in 1st list for LS polls

BJP's first list of 195 candidates includes 34 Union ministers and two former chief ministers.

While PM Modi will be contesting from Varanasi, Scindia and Irani have been fielded from Guna and Amethi respectively.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday released its first list of 195 candidates for Lok Sabha elections, days after a marathon meeting of the party’s Central Election Committee. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will once again contest from Varanasi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah from Gandhinagar in Gujarat.

The list includes 34 Union Ministers and Ministers of State and two former chief ministers.

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia will contest from Madhya Pradesh’s Guna, Home Minister Amit Shah from Gandhinagar, IT Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar from Thiruvananthapuram, Smriti Irani from Amethi, and Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya from Gujarat’s Porbandar. The BJP has fielded Defence Minister Rajnath Singh from Lucknow.

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Also Read | BJP’s 1st list of 195 candidates for Lok Sabha polls out: Check full list here

Union ministers Sarbananda Sonowal, Kiren Rijiju, Arjun Ram Meghwal, G Kishan Reddy and Arjun Munda have also been included in the party’s first list. Former chief ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Biplab Kumar Deb will contest from the Vidisha and Tripura West seats. Furthermore, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has been fielded from Kota.

Bansuri Swaraj, co-convenor of the Delhi BJP’s legal department and the daughter of late former minister of external affairs Sushma Swaraj, will be contesting for the first time from the New Delhi seat.

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