MP: BJP’S first list of candidates out

Chouhan stays in Budhni 2nd list of candidates for Mizoram, Telangana released

BHOPAL: The BJP on Friday released its first list of 177 candidates for the Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls, dropping over two dozen MLAS and fielding Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan from his traditional Budhni seat.

Three ministers are among the MLAS who have been denied renomination, while seats of several legislators of the ruling party have been changed. Three sitting independent MLAS have been fielded as BJP candidates from their respective constituencies.

Madhya Pradesh, which has a 230-member Assembly, will have a single phase polling on November 28.

Chouhan, holding the CM’S post since 2005, will once again contest from Budhni, his home turf in Sehore district.

The list was released in New Delhi by Union minister JP Nadda, who is also secretary of the BJP’S Central Election Committee. In the list, Urban Administration Minister Maya Singh has been dropped from Gwalior (East), from where Satish Sikarwar has been fielded, party leaders said.

Another minister Lalita Yadav, elected from Chhatarpur in 2013, will this time contest from neighbouring Malahra seat.

From Sanchi, the party has fielded Mudit Shejwar in place of his father Gaurishankar Shejwar, who is Forest Minister, the leaders said. Another minister Harsh Singh has been dropped and his son Vikram Singh has been fielded from Rampur Baghelan seat, they said.

The BJP has fielded two sitting members of Parliament for assembly polls.

Its MP from Dewas Manohar Singh Untwal will contest from Agar assembly seat, while the Lok Sabha member from Khajuraho, Nagendra Singh, will be the BJP candidate from Nagod seat. Sudhir Yadav, son of Sagar MP Laxminarayan Yadav, has been fielded from Surkhi, the sources said.

The BJP has also fielded three MLAS, who had won the last assembly elections as independent candidates, from their respective seats. They are Kal Singh Bhabar (Thandla), Sudesh Rai (Sehore) and Dinesh Rai Munmun (Seoni), they said. The BJP is in power in Madhya Pradesh since 2003.

The seats where the sitting MLAS have not been given tickets by the BJP include Sabalgarh, Sumaoli, Gwalior (East), Sewda, Guna, Surkhi, Tikamgarh, Prithvi- pur, Malahra, Hatta, Gunnor, Rampur Baghelan, Simaria, Teothar, Deosar, Junnardeo, Jaisinghnagar, Aamla, Ghodadongri, Sanchi, Vidisha, Ashta, Agar, Mandhata, Pandhana, Maheshwar, Sardarpur and Dharampuri.

The BJP also on Friday released its second list of 28 candidates for the coming Telangana assembly elections.

Baddam Bal Reddy and Endala Lakshminarayana, MLAS in the undivided Andhra Pradesh assembly, are among the prominent in the list.

Bal Reddy, who had earlier represented Karwan in Hyderabad, would contest from Rajendranagar. The assembly segment mainly comprises areas on the periphery of Hyderabad. Lakshminarayana would test his fortunes from Nizamabad Urban constituency, which he had represented earlier. BJP, which is going it alone in the December 7 elections to the 119-member assembly, has earlier released its first list of 38 nominees on October 20.

The latest list was finalised by the Central Election Committee of the BJP which met Thursday under the presidentship of party chief Amit Shah in Delhi. The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and other senior leaders and members of the committee, a BJP release said. The announcement of candidates triggered protests by supporters of aspirants who failed to get the party ticket.

While the party named G Yoganand, who is into construction business, as the nominee from Serilingampalli assembly segment in Hyderabad, the supporters of an aspirant for the ticket held protest at the BJP office here.

In Nizamabad, a group of people, stated to be the supporters of an aspirant, damaged furniture at the party office after their leader was denied the ticket. Shah had kicked off the party’s campaign for the Telangana polls on September 15 at Mahabubnagar and addressed another rally at Karimnagar lat month.

BJP had five MLAS in the recently dissolved state assembly.

The BJP on Friday released its second list of candidates for 24 seats in the election to the 40-member Mizoram Assembly on November 28.

The BJP had released its first list of 13 candidates on October 20. The names of three other candidates will soon be announced, a senior leader of the state BJP unit said.

The saffron party has so far fielded the largest number of six women candidates.

The Zoram Pepole’s Movement fielded two women candidates, while the ruling Congress announced Minister of State for Cooperation Vanlalawmpuii Chawngthu as the lone woman nominee of the party. There is no woman aspirant in the Mizo National Front’s 39 nominees.