BJP declares 2nd list of candidates in MP

The Bharatiya Janata Party announced its second list of 17 candidates for the Madhya Pradesh assembly elections, retaining seven legislators, including minister Sharad Jain, and dropping five.

The Bharatiya Janata Party had announced its first list of 177 candidates on Friday, but later made a correction, reducing the number by one. The Congress, too, has declared two lists, one on Saturday with 155 names and the second on Sunday with 16.

Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Morena and nephew of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Anoop Mishra, will contest the Bhitarwar assembly seat in Gwalior district. Jain, the minister of state for public relations, was retained to contest the Jabalpur (north) constituency.

Following the new list, the Bharatiya Janata Party needs to announce its candidates only for 37 seats, many of them in the Malwa region, which is considered to be a stronghold of the party.

Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Deepak Vijayvargiya said tickets were denied to the five sitting MLAs on the basis of independent surveys that were carried out and the feedback of party workers.

The Congress is hoping to end the three-term rule of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Madhya Pradesh, which goes to the polls on November 28. “The dropping of 20% of the sitting candidates from the two lists shows that the Bharatiya Janata Party is facing a huge anti-incumbency and are staring at defeat,” said state Congress media cell head Shobha Oza.

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