New Delhi, Mar 24: The BJP on Sunday released its fifth list of Lok Sabha candidates, comprising 111 names from 17 states, including actress Kangana Ranaut from Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi, Ramayan’s Ram Arun Govil from UP’s Meerut, former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi from UP’s Sultanpur, and industrialist Naveen Jindal from Haryana’s Kurukshetra.
Former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who quit the bench recently and joined the BJP, has been fielded from West Bengal’s Tamluk seat.
Other prominent candidates include Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan from Odisha’s Sambalpur, former IAS officer Aparajita Sarangi from Bhubaneswar, party spokesman Sambit Patra from Puri, Andhra Pradesh unit chief D.Purandeswari from Rajahmundry, and former Andhra Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, who quit the Congress, from Rajampet.
In Bihar, the party has fielded Union Ministers R.K Singh from Arrah, Nityanand Rai from Ujiarpur, and Giriraj Singh from Begusarai. Former Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad from Patna Sahib, Rajiv Pratap Rudy from Saran, Radha Mohan Singh from Purvi Champaran, and Ram Kripal Yadav from Pataliputra also figure in the list.
JMM’s Sita Soren, who recently joined the party, has been fielded from Dumka (ST).
Former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, who recently returned to the party from the Congress, has been fielded from Belgaum and former state minister K. Sudhakar from Chikballapur. In Kerala, state chief K. Surendran has been fielded from Wayanad, where Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is contesting.
Sitting MP Varun Gandhi has been denied a ticket from UP’s Pilibhit and UP minister Jitin Prasad fielded in his place. Longtime Bareilly MP and former Union Minister Santosh Gangwar has also been dropped and Chhatrapal Singh Gangwar was named the candidate.
The BJP has fielded Atul Garg from Ghaziabad, as sitting MP and Union Minister, Gen V.K. Singh (retd) expressed his unwillingness to contest the polls.