New delhi, February 27
The BJP tonight released its first list of 56 candidates for the upcoming general election. It includes three candidates from Himachal Pradesh and five from Jammu and Kashmir.

In Himachal, sitting MPs Anurag Thakur and Virendra Kashyap will contest Hamirpur and Shimla seats, respectively, while veteran party leader Shanta Kumar will contest from Kangra.

In Jammu and Kashmir, Gulam Mohammad Meer will contest from Baramulla, Mushtaq Ahmad Malik Nurabadi from Anantnag, National Executive Member Thunpsthan Chhewang from Ladakh, state spokesperson Jitendra Singh from Udhampur and state president Jugal Kishore Sharma from Jammu.

The list includes six SC/STs and two women candidates. While 16 candidates have been cleared from Maharashtra, 17 candidates belong to West Bengal. Two each are from Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Manipur and six from Odisha.