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PM Modi to contest from Varanasi as BJP announces first list of candidates for LS polls

The first list of 195 candidates include 34 ministers and has 28 women candidates.

PM Modi to contest from Varanasi as BJP announces first list of candidates for LS polls

PM Modi at Varanasi (Photo:SNS)

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday announced the first list of 195 candidates for Lok Sabha elections scheduled to be held in April-May this year.

Addressing a press conference in Delhi, BJP National General Secretary Vinod Tawde said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will contest the Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh.

The Varanasi constituency, a BJP stronghold, is being held by PM Modi since for the last two terms. Modi first contested the seat in 2014, when defeated Aam Aadmi Party national convener and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal by a margin of over three lakh votes.

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“Under the leadership of PM Modi various public interest decisions have been taken in the last 10 years. This time the Sankalp should be BJP 370 & NDA 400 ‘par’…,” Tawde said while announcing the list.

The list also includes details regarding 34 Central Ministers and Ministers of States. It also includes the name of Lok Sabha Speaker Shri Om Birla and 2 former CMs as well.

Of the 195 candidates announced in the first list, 28 are women, while 47 candidates are under the age of 50. The list also has 27 SC candidates, 18 ST candidates and 57 candidates from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.

“We’re set to announce candidates on 51 seats from Uttar Pradesh, 20 from West Bengal, 24 from Madhya Pradesh, 15 each from Gujarat and Rajasthan, 12 from Kerala, 9 seats from Telangana, 11 from Assam, 11 each from Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, 5 from Delhi, 2 from J&K, 3 from Uttarakhand, 2 from Arunachal Pradesh and 1 each from Goa, Tripura, Andaman & Nicobar and Daman & Diu,” Tawde said.

Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal will contest from Bikaner, Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav from Alwar, Union Minister Gajendr Singh Shekhawat from Jodhpur, Union Minister Kailash Choudhary from Barmer, Rajasthan BJP President CP Joshi from Chittorgarh, and Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla from Kota.

Union Minister Smriti Irani will contest from Amethi, considered a Gandhi family stronghold untill 2019 when she defeated Rahul Gandhi.

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