 "BJP")
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday announced it would field six of its sitting Lok Sabha Members of Parliament (MPs) from Rajasthan in the forthcoming Assembly polls in the state. It will also field three Chhattisgarh LS MPs in the central Indian state. In Rajasthan, the party announced its Rajya Sabha MP, Kirodi Lal Meena, would also contest from an Assembly seat.
In August, the BJP’s second list for Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls consisted of seven Lok Sabha MPs from the state, including three Union ministers. In Rajasthan, where it has 24 MPs, and Madhya Pradesh, with 28 MPs, the BJP has now fielded at least a fourth of its sitting LS MPs.
In Chhattisgarh, it has fielded four of its nine MPs — three announced in the latest list, including Union Minister of State Renuka Singh, and its Dhar MP Vijay Baghel in its previous list from the state. Vijay Baghel will contest against Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel from the Patan seat. The BJP has fielded 18 MPs, including four Union ministers, so far in the three Hindi heartland states. Most will contest seats that the BJP lost five years back.
The BJP released its first list of 41 candidates for Rajasthan, which has 200 seats. It listed six of its 24 LS MPs in Rajasthan, and one RS MP who will contest the Assembly polls, including Rajsamand MP Diya Kumari from Jaipur’s Vidyadhar Nagar constituency and Jaipur Rural MP Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore from Jaipur’s Jhotwara seat.
The Vidyadhar Nagar seat is held by BJP MLA Narpat Singh Rajvi, a five-time MLA and son-in-law of former vice president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. The remaining 39 seats where the BJP announced its candidates are ones it lost in the 2018 Assembly polls.
The BJP also released its fourth list for the Madhya Pradesh polls of 57 nominees, all sitting legislators. The list has state Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan contesting from his sitting seat of Budhni. The list has the names of 24 state ministers. The BJP has declared candidates for 136 of 230 seats with this fourth list.
In its Chhattisgarh list of 64 candidates, former chief minister Raman Singh will contest from his sitting Rajnandgaon seat. Three MPs, including state unit chief Arun Sao, Renuka Singh and Gomati Sai, and two retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers, figured in the list. With the second list, the BJP has announced 85 candidates in the 90-member legislature. In the list, the BJP has fielded 11 sitting legislators and 13 who lost in the 2018 polls. In 2018, the BJP could win only 15 seats.
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The BJP has fielded Chhattisgarhi film star Anuj Sharma, who recently joined the party, from Dharsiwa in Raipur district. Ishwar Sahu, whose son was killed in a communal clash in April this year in Biranpur village of Bemetara district and who joined the BJP, also featured in the list. The party has fielded from Chandrapur Sanyogita Singh Judev, wife of former MLA late Yuddhvir Singh Judev, son of BJP stalwart Dilip Singh Judev. Another son of Dilip Singh Judev, Prabal Pratap Singh Judev, has been fielded from the Kota seat.
In Rajasthan, of the seven parliamentarians, six are Lok Sabha MPs and one, Kirodi Lal Meena, is a Rajya Sabha member, who will contest from Sawai Madhopur. Jhunjhunu MP Narendra Kumar will contest from Mandawa, Alwar MP Baba Balaknath from Tijara, Ajmer MP Bhagirath Choudhary from Kishangarh and Jalore MP Devji Patel from Sanchore. Gurjar leader late Kirodi Singh Bainsla's son Vijay Bainsla (from Deoli-Uniara seat) and retired IAS officer Chandramohan Meena (Bassi constituency) also figured in the list.
