lok sabha election
– Photo: Amar Ujala
Expansion
BJP has announced the names of candidates for six Lok Sabha seats out of 13 (partially Salempur Lok Sabha seat of Deoria) in Azamgarh, Varanasi and Mirzapur divisions. Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi, Union Minister Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey from Chandauli and Dr. Ravindra Kushwaha from Salempur have been fielded for the third time.
After independence, PM Modi will also get a chance to equal that record, when he can become MP from Kashi for the third consecutive time. Before this, Raghunath Singh of Congress and Shankar Prasad Jaiswal of BJP had become MPs for three consecutive terms. PM Modi had won the 2019 elections by a record margin.
He got 63.6% votes. Shalini Yadav, the candidate of SP-BSP alliance, could get only 18.4% votes while Ajay Rai of Congress could get only 14.38% votes. Similarly, the party has again expressed confidence in Dineshlal Yadav Nirahua, who won the by-election from Azamgarh Lok Sabha seat. Nirahua had defeated Dharmendra Yadav of Mulayam family in the by-election.
The party has again rewarded this. Neelam Sonkar, who lost the last election from Lalganj reserved seat of Azamgarh, has again been made a candidate. However, Neelam had won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections on BJP ticket. Former Maharashtra Minister of State for Home Kripashankar Singh has been made the candidate from Jaunpur.