Delhi: The BJP has announced its fifth election list, which includes 111 names covering 17 states. Among the notable names in this list are newly inducted members such as industrialist Naveen Jindal, Ranjit Chautala, former judge of Calcutta High Court Abhijit Gangopadhyay, and actor Kangana Ranaut. The party has also dropped some key leaders like Varun Gandhi, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, General VK Singh, and Anant Kumar Hegde. In a surprising move, senior leader and Kerala BJP chief K Surendran has been fielded against Congress’s Rahul Gandhi in Wayanad.
Other interesting choices by the party include Ranjit Chautala, son of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal, who will contest from Hisar and Kangana Ranaut who will contest her first election from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh. Another notable candidate is actor Arun Govil, who played Ram in the popular TV serial Ramayan and will now contest from Meerut.
In a first for the judiciary, former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay has joined electoral politics and will contest from Bengal’s Tamluk. Additionally, the BJP has fielded Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Sambit Patra from Odisha, Sita Soren from Jharkhand’s Dumka, Giriraj Singh from Begusarai, and Ravi Shankar Prasad from Patna Sahib. This election list showcases the party’s efforts to bring in new faces and experienced leaders from various fields to strengthen their electoral prospects.
