In BJP’s first list for Lok Sabha polls: Mix of old, new; social justice is the big message

Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was seen as having been sidelined when he was replaced as CM despite the BJP’s recent victory in the state, has been fielded from Vidisha, which was once his Lok Sabha seat. Sushma Swaraj was fielded from Vidisha when Chouhan was CM.

Winnability, representation and a propensity to work quietly as per the party’s requirements have all mattered — in varying degrees — in the selections. Apart from these factors, the first list does not reflect any other grand or consistent pattern.

The party has made it a point to emphasise its commitment to social justice on caste and gender lines, with the list including 29% OBCs (57 candidates), 14% SCs (27 candidates), and 9% STs (18 candidates).

While the presence of the last two categories is mandated by political reservation, BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde’s specific mention of the proportion of OBCs seemed aimed at reinforcing the party’s claim of being the prime vehicle of OBC representation, at a time when the Congress has changed tack to demand a caste census, joining the ranks of the traditional Mandal parties. The total proportion of reserved category candidates in the BJP’s first list is about 52%.

The first list has only one Muslim candidate — Abdul Salam from Malappuram in Kerala — continuing the BJP’s past pattern of Muslim under-representation, which offers the party a relative surplus of seats, vis-a-vis its rivals, to be able to work out its caste combinations.

Tawde also stated that the first list included 28 women and 47 candidates below 50 years of age – in keeping with the BJP’s social justice pitch, and Modi’s emphasis on women, youth, farmers and the poor being the only “castes” that he recognises.

Regional variations

In Chhattisgarh, the BJP has replaced seven of its nine MPs, with only Vijay Baghel from Durg and Santosh Pandey from Rajnandgaon retaining their seats. The latter edged out former Chief Minister Raman Singh’s son Abhishek Singh to be fielded from the constituency a second time.

However, in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, the party has retained most of its earlier candidates. But, candidates are yet to be announced for many key seats in UP, like Varun Gandhi’s Pilibhit, Maneka Gandhi’s Sultanpur, the now-high-profile Ayodhya, and the Gandhis’ bastion of Raebareli.

Pragya Singh Thakur, who defeated Congress’s Digvijaya Singh from Bhopal last time, does not feature in the BJP’s first list from MP. Similarly, Ramesh Bidhuri, who drew flak for his caustic statements against Danish Ali in Lok Sabha, is also absent. However, this may not mark a clear pattern, as Pragya Singh Thakur remains unwell, apart from being purportedly out of favour.

Similarly, the party has retained only Manoj Tiwari in its first list of five candidates from Delhi, leaving out all the others including Dr Harsh Vardhan.

Besides trying to tick multiple boxes with its mix of candidates in the first list, the BJP, by being among the first to declare the names, seeks to portray the party as disciplined, decisive and resolute as it goes to the polls with the stated purpose of clinching a third consecutive Lok Sabha victory.

Here’s the BJP’s full list of candidates: