New Delhi: The BJP on Wednesday announced its second list for the Lok Sabha polls, announcing former Haryana chief minister ML Khattar, Union ministers Nitin Gadkari, Anurag Thakur, Pralhad Joshi, Shobha Karanadlaje and Piyush Goyal as well as chief spokesperson and in-charge of the media cell Anil Baluni among key names.
In a list of 72 names, the party packed in a few surprises, dropping as many as 30 sitting MPs, including two former chief ministers as well as Union minister of state of railways Darshana Jardosh. The party, on the other hand, also fielded three former chief ministers.
Former Haryana CM ML Khattar, who resigned from his position on Tuesday, will contest from Haryana’s Karnal, former Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai from Haveri, and former Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat will contest from Haridwar. In Uttarakhand, the party has dropped two former CMs, Nishank Pokhriyal (Haridwar) and Tirath Singh Rawat (Garhwal).
While Union ministers Gadkari, Thakur and Joshi have been fielded from their respective seats of Nagpur, Hamirpur and Dhadwad, Rajya Sabha MP Piyush Goyal has been fielded from Mumbai (North) and Baluni from Garhwal. It will be the first Lok Sabha contest for Goyal and Baluni. Karandlaje’s Udupi-Chikmagalur seat has been shifted to Bangalore North.