BJP Punjab chief Sunil Jakhar said party’s decision to contest alone on all 13 seats in Punjab and one seat in Chandigarh is being received well….reports Asian Lite News
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Punjab chief Sunil Jakhar and state in-charge of Punjab and Chandigarh, Vijay Rupani held the party’s core committee meeting in Chandigarh ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
“BJP’s decision to contest alone on all 13 seats in Punjab and one seat in Chandigarh is being received well. In the meeting today, the names of candidates will also be discussed and finalised,” Vijay Rupani said speaking to reporters on Friday.
Speaking about new entrants to the BJP, Rupani said, “There are positive reports from Punjab. PM Modi is needed for Punjab and the country. Many are joining the BJP, even sitting MPs. This is a good sign.”
Rupani said that while the BJP used to contest in only two-three seats in Punjab, this time it has chosen to contest in all 13 seats in the state.
“Earlier, we used to fight on only 2-3 seats, but this time we are fighting on all 13 seats. The BJP’s performance will improve,” he said.
BJP’s decision to fight alone in Punjab was triggered after its long-standing ally in the state, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), broke ties with its partner following the farmers’ protest.
Earlier on Tuesday, Sunil Jakhar said that his party has decided to contest the Lok Sabha elections alone in the state. “BJP to contest the Lok Sabha elections alone in Punjab,” he posted on ‘X’ along with the video message.
The BJP also got a major boost when Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu joined the party at the party headquarters in Delhi. Ravneet Singh Bittu is the grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh and the son of former Punjab minister Tej Parkash Singh. The party was further bolstered when two Aam Aadmi Party leaders Jalandhar MP Sushil Kumar Rinku and Jalandhar West MLA Sheetal Angural joined the BJP.
The BJP won two seats in Punjab during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, its ally SAD got two seats. The Congress won eight seats and the Aam Aadmi Party won one. Punjab has 13 parliamentary constituencies.
BJP’s Odisha plans
The BJP held Odisha core committee meetings at the party headquarters to discuss potential candidates for the Lok Sabha polls.
BJP National President JP Nadda chaired the meeting, while party National General Secretary BL Santosh, Odisha incharge Vijay Pal Tomar, Odisha state President Manmohan Samal, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Odisha MP Jual Oram and BJP National spokesperson Sambit Patra are also present in the meeting.
Meanwhile, the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has already announced the first list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Odisha.
Odisha CM and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to share the list of the nine Lok Sabha candidates, namely for Sambalpur, Kalahandi, Bhubaneswar, Kendrapara, Nabarangpur, Sundargarh, Mayurbhanj, Aska and Koraput seats.
Naveen Patnaik will re-contest from the Hinjili Assembly constituency for a sixth term.
Back in 2000, Patnaik became the chief minister of Odisha for the first time.BJD General Secretary Pranab Prakash Das has been pitted against Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan of the BJP in Sambalpur.
Hours after joining BJD, the Biju Janata Dal announced Manmath Routray, son of Congress veteran leader Suresh Routraya, as the Lok Sabha candidate from Bhubaneswar.
Former Odisha Congress MLA Anshuman Mohanty, who joined the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on February 16, will contest the election from the Kendrapara Lok Saha seat.
Pradeep Kumar Majhi, who left Congress on October 22, 2021 and joined BJD later on, is a nominee from Nabarangpur.BJD filed former Indian Hockey Captain and Padma Shri awardee, Dilip Tirkey as the party nominee from the Sundargarh seat.
Minister of Revenue and Disaster Management (Government of Odisha), a five-time MLA, has been named a BJD candidate from Mayurbhanj.
The party fielded Lambodhar Nial from Kalahandi, Ranjita Sahu from Aska and Kaushalya Hikaka from Koraput.
The Lok Sabha elections in Odisha, which comprise 21 constituencies, are set to take place in four phases. The voting dates have been scheduled for May 13, May 20, May 25, and June 1.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections in Odisha, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) emerged as the dominant party, securing 20 out of the 21 seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a single seat.
However, the 2019 elections saw a shift in the political landscape. The BJD’s seat count was reduced to 12, while the BJP made significant gains, winning 8 seats. This change marked a notable increase in the BJP’s presence in the state. The Indian National Congress (INC) also managed to secure a seat in the 2019 elections. (ANI)
ALSO READ: No relief from HC for Kejriwal