BJP First Candidate List For 2024 Polls: The BJP has released its first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 having 195 names including that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The BJP’s candidate list comprises 57 OBCs, 28 women, 27 from Scheduled Castes, and 18 from Scheduled Tribes. With this, the BJP has indicated that it will not only go hard against low performers but will also keep its focus on balancing caste equations. The party has fielded candidates keeping in mind the opposition alliance and their candidates, especially in Uttar Pradesh.
BJP’s Move To Capture SC Votes
Among the Scheduled Caste candidates, names like Kripa Nath Mallah, Kamalesh Jangde, Vinodbhai Lakhmashi Chavda, Dineshbhai Kodarbhai Makwana, Ajay Tamta, Bhola Singh, Om Kumar, Satyapal Singh Baghel, Soumitra, and Priya Saha are included, representing various sections of the marginalized society. This comes at a time when the opposition parties especially Congress are trying to make caste census a poll issue to counter BJP’s Hindutva politics.
29 फरवरी, 2024 को प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi की गरिमामयी उपस्थिति और श्री @JPNadda की अध्यक्षता में आयोजित केंद्रीय चुनाव समिति की बैठक में आगामी लोकसभा चुनाव हेतु 195 लोकसभा सीटों के लिए बीजेपी उम्मीदवार के नामों पर मंजूरी दी गई। (1/4) pic.twitter.com/Wv8yVYnegK
— BJP (@BJP4India) March 2, 2024
Focus on Tribal Votes
In addition, the BJP has given tickets to candidates from Scheduled Tribes to secure their votes. Mahesh Kashyap, Amar Singh Tisso, Radheshyam Rathia, Chintamani Maharaj, Bholaraaj Naag, Jaswant Singh Bhambhor, Prabhubhai Nagarbhai Vasava, Manoj Tigga, Tala Marandi, Sunil Soren, Geeta Koda, Samir Uranv, Himadri Singh, Faggan Singh Kulaste, Anita Nagar Singh Chauhan, Mahendra Malviya, and Mannalal Rawat are among those who have received tickets.
OBCs In Spotlight
Since Rahul Gandhi keeps raising the OBC issues every now and then, the BJP’s list also has the highest representation from the community. It also aligns with the saffron party’s considerable OBC voter base. Notably, Prime Minister Modi himself belongs to the OBC category. The BJP has given tickets to OBC candidates like Rajesh Varma, Ghanshyam Lodhi, Parmeshwar Lal Saini, Rajveer Singh, Rekha Varma, Sakshi Maharaj, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, and Rahul Lodhi. In this way, the BJP has made a concerted effort to address the interests of OBCs by allocating 57 tickets to them.
Women Candidates Get Greater Representation
In the BJP’s first list of candidates, there are 28 women candidates. The party has given tickets to Bansuri Swaraj, Shobha Surendran, Sandhya Ray, Lata Wankhede, Jyoti Mirdha, Kamaljeet Sahrawat, Annapurna Devi, Hema Malini, Rekha Varma, and Priya Saha, among others.
Opposition Slams BJP
Reacting to the BJP’s first list, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said that the BJP has accepted defeat in Uttar Pradesh. The BJP’s first list has 51 candidates from Uttar Pradesh. Taking to X, Yadav said, “The first list of BJP’s Lok Sabha candidates shows that ‘prima facie’ this list has come only on those 195 seats where there is even a slight possibility of BJP winning. Its meaning is clear but BJP is wiped out on the rest. In the first list itself, BJP has accepted its defeat because due to fear of rebellion, it is re-nominating those people who are not getting any work done in their respective parliamentary constituencies or because of their involvement in corruption. There were no expectations for tickets. Those who wanted to pack their bags and leave are being asked to fight again under pressure. What opposition will these inflexible people face?”
Yadav further claimed that there is deep disappointment among BJP workers due to the list because they are aware of the wind blowing against most of their MPs among the public. Congress leader Pawan Khera said that the current BJP MPs were useless and thus the party was forced to remove them.