M A I N   N E W S

Sushma, Yashwant’s son on BJP list
Pramod Mahajan’s daughter, Ahluwalia,
Kirti Azad figure among 97
Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 13
The BJP today released a list of 97 candidates for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. It comprised the least controversial constituencies and names, including that of 27 sitting MPs and two Rajya Sabha members — Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Faggan Singh Kulaste.

The only big name announced today was that of Sushma Swaraj. She would re-contest from Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh.

Faced with intense infighting and dissent over many constituencies, the party remained silent over seats for its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and senior leaders Rajnath Singh, Murli Manohar Joshi and Lalji Tandon.

Jayant Sinha, son of senior leader Yashwant Sinha, will contest from the Hazaribagh constituency in Jharkhand. Party general secretary Ananth Kumar said Yashwant Sinha was not keen on contesting the election and wanted to work for the party instead.

Late Pramod Mahajan’s daughter Poonam will contest the Mumbai North-Central constituency against Priya Dutt of the Congress.

Other prominent persons who got the ticket included SS Ahluwalia (Darjeeling), Rajiv Pratap Rudy (Saran, Bihar), Kirti Azad (Darbhanga, Bihar), and Shahnawaz Hussain (Bhagalpur, Bihar).

The candidate for Patna Sahib will be decided after consultations with incumbent MP Shatrughan Sinha. Despite severe objections from the local leadership, the BJP also decided to field of former RJD leader Ram Kripal Yadav against Lalu Prasad’s daughter Misa Bharti from the Pataliputra constituency in Bihar. The party finalised 25 candidates for Bihar, 24 for Madhya Pradesh, 13 for Jharkhand, 14 for Kerala, seven for West Bengal, six for Assam, five for Karnataka and two for Maharashtra. The list of candidates for Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi was expected on March 15.