The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is strategically positioning itself for a significant advantage in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, aiming to secure 370 seats. Even before the official announcement of the poll dates, the party has unveiled a list of 195 candidates. Notable figures among them include Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking re-election from Varanasi, and Home Minister Amit Shah, who will again contest from Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
The list features key personalities such as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, set to contest from Lucknow, and Smriti Irani, known for her surprise victory over Rahul Gandhi in Amethi in 2019. In total, 34 ministers and two former chief ministers are listed, along with 28 women, 47 leaders under 50, and 57 members from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) community. Uttar Pradesh accounts for 51 candidates, followed by West Bengal with 20 and Delhi with five.
For Delhi, candidates include Praveen Khandelwal, Manoj Tiwari, and Bansuri Swaraj, daughter of the late Sushma Swaraj. Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, previously a Rajya Sabha member, will contest from Porbandar, Gujarat, while Rajya Sabha member and minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar will vie for the Thiruvananthapuram seat, challenging the incumbent Shashi Tharoor of the Congress.
Other notable candidates include Jyotiraditya Scindia contesting from Guna, Madhya Pradesh, and Bhupender Yadav, a Rajya Sabha MP, fielded from Alwar. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, despite not being reinstated as Madhya Pradesh chief minister, is poised for a national role, contesting from Vidisha in the Lok Sabha polls.