Is BJP Planning to Field Kumar Vishwas From Meerut? Speculations Swirl

New Delhi: Though an official confirmation is awaited, speculations are rife that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may field Kumar Vishwas from the Meerut Lok Sabha constituency of Uttar Pradesh. For the unversed, the BJP has released its two lists of candidates so far for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the third list could soon be released.  

Sources suggest that the party may field several sitting MPs on the remaining 29 seats . Interestingly, the party can field many such names in UP who have been quite popular.

Will Nupur Sharma be Fielded From Raebareli? 

Suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nupur Sharma is also back in the limelight, with rumours suggesting she might be nominated as a candidate from Raebareli, a constituency traditionally considered a stronghold of the Gandhi family. While nothing has been confirmed as of now, the buzz surrounding Nupur Sharma intensified as reports indicated that the BJP's Central Election Committee (CEC) is in the final stages of selecting candidates for 25 constituencies spanning Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana. 

Reports from a leading Hindi daily suggest that discussions are underway regarding the potential nomination of Nupur Sharma to contest from Raebareli. Moreover, this development has swiftly caught fire on social media, with rumours circulating rapidly within political spheres and beyond.    

BJP Announces 51 Candidates From UP in Its First List

Earlier this month, the BJP had released the first list of 51 candidates from Uttar Pradesh for the Lok Sabha elections. The notable names in the first list include Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh from Lucknow, Hema Malini from Mathura, Ajay Mishra Teni from Kheri, Smriti Irani from Amethi, Lallo Singh from Faizabad (Ayodhya) and Mahendra Nath Pandey from Chandauli among others. The new faces in the BJP list include Saket Mishra from Shrawasti, Kripa Shankar Singh from Jaunpur and Ritesh Pandey from Ambedkarnagar.

Saket Mishra, who is the sitting MLC, is the son of Nripendra Mishra, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple Construction Committee Chairman chairman and former principal secretary to Prime Minister Modi.

Kripa Shankar had quit the Congress to join the BJP and Pandey, sitting BSP MP, had recently switched sides. The candidates for Pilibhit and Sultanpur, which are held by Varun Gandhi and Maneka Gandhi respectively, are yet to be announced.

Prime Minister Modi will be seeking re-election from Varanasi for the third time, winning the earlier two elections in 2014 and 2019 from the same seat with a handsome margin of over 3.71 lakh and 4.79 lakh votes. Rajnath Singh will also be seeking re-election from Lucknow for the third time after winning it in two previous elections in 2014 and 2019 comfortably by a margin of 2.72 lakh and 3.47 votes respectively.