New Delhi, March 16 (IANS) BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi will contest the Lok Sabha polls from Varanasi, while party president Rajnath Singh will now fight from Lucknow, the BJP announced Saturday.
According to the Bharatiya Janata Party's fourth list, which has 55 names, released late Saturday, Arun Jaitley, the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, will contest the elections from Amritsar, actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha from Patna Sahib, and Uma Bharati from Jhansi.
Senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, who is sitting MP from Varanasi, moves to Kanpur, while Rajnath Singh shifts from Ghaziabad to Lucknow, earlier held by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and currently represented by the party's Lalji Tandon.
Modi said it was "an honour" to contest from Hindu holy city. "With blessings of Ganga Mata & Kashi Vishwanath, let us work towards success of Mission 272+ & create a strong, vibrant, and prosperous India," he tweeted.
Celebrations broke out among BJP members in Varanasi after the announcement. Several hundreds of party supporters shouted slogans in his favour, blew conches, smeared each other with "gulaal" (colour) and burst crackers. They said they would be performing a special puja at the famous Kashi Vishwanath temple Monday.
Among other candidates, former minister Maneka Gandhi, sitting MP from Aonla in Uttar Pradesh, returns to her traditional Pilibhit seat in the state, while her son Varun Gandhi shifts from Pilibhit to Sultanpur - contiguous to Congress president Sonia Gandhi's Rae Bareli and vice president Rahul Gandhi's Amethi constituencies.
Former union minister Rao Inderjeet Singh, who recently quit the Congress, will contest from Gurgaon, and Kalraj Mishra from Deoria (Uttar Pradesh). Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh, who recently returned to the BJP, is not contesting but his son Rajvir Singh has been fielded from the state's Etah.
The candidates from Delhi, where polling will be held in the second round (April 10), are state party chief Harsh Vardhan from Chandni Chowk, party spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi from New Delhi, Pravesh Verma, the son of former chief minister Saheb Singh Verma, from West Delhi, Dalit leader Udit Raj from North West Delhi (reserved), Bhojpuri movie star Manoj Tiwari from North East Delhi, Ramesh Bidhuri from South Delhi and Mahesh Giri from East Delhi.
Actress Kirron Kher has been fielded from Chandigarh, from where the Aam Aadmi Party is fielding model-turned-actress Gul Panag.
However, the shifting of seats left some unhappy.
Navjot Singh Sidhu, who is the MP from Amritsar, told media persons earlier Saturday that he will not fight the Lok Sabha polls from anywhere except Amritsar.
Talking to reporters after meeting Rajnath Singh, the cricketer-turned-politician said he had no problem with Jaitley fighting from Amritsar but he had declined alternative constituencies in Delhi and Haryana and would refrain from the electoral battle.
Tandon however told IANS there was no question of being unhappy and Rajnath Singh being fielded from Lucknow was in the party's best interests.
Corona remains a record every day, 6654 new cases and 137 deaths in 24 hours in the country, know top 10 states including Delhi-Maharashtra
Corona virus cases are increasing every day in India and every day it is making a record of most cases. Even today, Corona's biggest jump has been revealed. In the last 24 hours in the country, 6654
Over Rs.3 crore cash, valuables seized in Bengal
Kolkata, April 2 (IANS) The Income Tax (IT) department has seized over Rs.3 crore in unaccounted cash and valuables, including gold, in West Bengal, an Election Commission (EC) official said
Weather update: Now cold will haunt Bihar including Delhi, Himachal covered with snow; It will rain here and there in the next 5 days
Weather Update Today: According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), due to the new easterly wave, there is a possibility of heavy rainfall in South Peninsular India during the next 5 days.
Anyone criticising Mother Teresa either stupid or envious: Jeffrey Archer
Kolkata, March 7 (IANS) Brushing off RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's comments on Mother Teresa, celebrated British author Jeffrey Archer on Saturday said anyone who is foolish enough to criticise the
Sikkim Flood: Cloud burst causes devastation in Sikkim, 14 people dead so far; Hundreds missing including 23 army personnel
A cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim caused a flash flood in the Teesta River basin on Wednesday. Giving information on Wednesday, the state government said that so far 14 people have died
DGP and Additional Chief Secretary visited the victim family; Girl's mother's accusation- last time daughter's face not even shown
3 days after burning the body of the Hathras gang-rape victim, the police have given the media entry into the victim's village (Bulgaria). In a media interaction, the victim's family made serious
IND vs BAN: Will Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, and Ishaan Kishan be dropped? That's why questions have arisen
The three-match ODI series between India and Bangladesh started on Sunday. In the first ODI, Bangladesh defeated India by 1 wicket. After this victory, the Bangladesh team has gone ahead 1-0 in the 3
Terror, money laundering running in Bengal under Trinamool: BJP
Kolkata, March 3 (IANS) The BJP on Tuesday said West Bengal under the Trinamool Congress was becoming a centre for exporting smuggling and terrorists, in the wake of police busting a fake currency
Ayodhya: Ram temple will be protected from all three sides, water, land, and sky, Rs 38 crore will be spent on a security plan
About 38 crore rupees will be spent on the security plan of the temple of Ramlala. The funds have been approved and the responsibility of construction has been handed over to UP Nirman Nigam. Its DPR
Odisha to encourage people on Renewable Energy: CM
Bhubaneswar, March 26 (IANS) The Odisha government plans to bring in a policy which would encourage people to harness and utilise renewable energy on their rooftops and in backyards, Chief
