In a strategic move, the BJP has replaced 30 sitting MPs with new faces as the second list of 72 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls came out on Wednesday.
The major decision to opt for new faces in many of these strongholds hints at the party's decision to fend off anti-incumbency and the decisions have been taken after considering the feedback from the field.
Delhi
Prominent names missing from the list include Gautam Gambhir, East Delhi sitting MP, who has been replaced by Harsh Malhotra. Not just Gambir, BJP replaced all MPs in Delhi except for North East Delhi candidate Manoj Tiwari. Five of the six MPs who were dropped include Harsh Vardhan, Meenakshi Lekhi, Pravesh Sahib Singh, and Ramesh Bidhuri.
For the North West Delhi constituency reserved for the Scheduled Caste, the party named Yogendra Chandolia as its candidate, dropping incumbent Hans Raj Hans, a singer.
Gujarat
In Gujarat, the BJP replaced five sitting MPs with new faces. Two-term MP Dipsinh Magansinh Rathod was replaced by Bhikhaji Dudhaji Thakore from Sabarkantha. For the Bhavnagar seat, the party named Nimuben Bambhania, dropping its two-term MP Bhartiben Dhirubhai Shiyal.
The BJP fielded Jashubhai Bhilubhai Rathwa from the Chhota Udaipur Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat, instead of its sitting MP Gitaben Vajesingbhai Rathva. The party named Mukeshbhai Chandrakant Dalal as its candidate for Surat, dropping its three-term MP and Union minister Darshana Vikram Jardosh from the seat.
Haryana
In Haryana, the BJP dropped its sitting MP Sunita Duggal to field Ashok Tanwar from the Sirsa seat, reserved for the Scheduled Caste. Tanwar, a former Congress leader, had recently joined the BJP after quitting the Aam Aadmi Party. From the Karnal Lok Sabha seat, the BJP fielded former Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, dropping sitting MP Sanjay Bhatia. Khattar resigned as chief minister this week.
Karnataka
Nine sitting Karnataka MPs, including its former state unit president Nalin Kumar Kateel and Pratap Simha were replaced in Karnataka. The party named Basavaraj Kyavator as its candidate from Koppal, dropping its two-term MP Sanganna Amarappa Karadi. From Bellary, a Scheduled Tribe reserved seat, the BJP fielded B Sriramulu, instead of its sitting MP Y Devendrappa. The party named former Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai as its candidate from Haveri, dropping its three-term MP Shivkumar Chanabasappa Udasi from the seat.
For the Dakshina Kannada seat, the BJP named Capt Brijesh Chowta as its candidate for the Lok Sabha polls, instead of Nalin Kumar Kateel who held the seat for the last three consecutive terms.
The party dropped its two-term MP Pratap Simha to field Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar from the Mysore Lok Sabha seat. It named S Balaraj as its candidate for the Chamarajanagar Lok Sabha seat, instead of its six-term MP Srinivasa Prasad.
Madhya Pradesh
In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP gave a party ticket to Savitri Thakur from the Dhar seat, instead of Chhatar Singh Darbar who has been holding the seat for the last three terms. The party named Bharti Pardhi as its candidate from the Balaghat seat, instead of its sitting MP Dal Singh Bisen.
Maharastra
In Maharashtra, the BJP replaced its sitting MPs with new faces in five Lok Sabha seats. The party named Smita Wagh as its candidate from Jalgaon, dropping its sitting MP Unmesh Bhaiyyasaheb Patil from the seat. The BJP's two-term MP from Mumbai North Gopal Chinayya Shetty was dropped to field Union Minister Piyush Goyal from the seat.
The BJP named Anup Dhorte as its candidate from Maharashtra's Akola Lok Sabha seat, instead of Sanjay Shamrao Dhotre who is the sitting MP.
The BJP dropped its sitting MP Manoj Kishorebhai Kotak from Mumbai North East to field Mihir Kotecha from the seat. For the Beed Lok Sabha seat, the party named Pankaja Munde as its candidate, instead of her sister Pritam Gopinath Rao Munde who has been holding the seat for the last two terms.
Telangana
In Telangana, the BJP dropped its sitting MP Soyam Babu Rao to field Godam Nagesh from the Adilabad seat, which is reserved for the Scheduled Caste. The BJP fielded its chief spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Anil Baluni from Garhwal, instead of incumbent Tirath Singh Rawat, a former Uttarakhand chief minister.
Uttarakhand
The party also dropped its two-term MP and former Union minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank from the Haridwar seat to field former Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat.
Tripura
The BJP named Maharani Kriti Singh Debbarma as its candidate from the Tripura East seat, instead of incumbent Rebati Tripura.
(With PTI inputs)
