From fielding Rajya Sabha Members to testing former CMs : Unpacking BJP's two candidate lists for Lok Sabha Polls

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Narendra Modi and 34 Union Ministers featured in the first list. However, at least 33 members of parliament (MPs) were dropped. Prominent names in the second list include nine Union Ministers, including Nitin Gadkari, Piyush Goyal, Anurag Thakur and Prahlad Joshi.

As many as 31 MPs were replaced by fresh names in the second list. The BJP released its first list of 195 candidates on March 2. Two candidates - Pawan Singh from Asansol (West Bengal) and Upendra Singh Raway from Asansol (West Bengal) had dropped out.

With 72 more names released on Wednesday, the BJP has announced candidates for 265 Lok Sabha seats so far. With the second list, the BJP has announced candidates for all seats in Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Tripura and Uttarakhand. In the second list, the BJP has fielded Union Commerce minister Piyush Goyal from Mumbai North seat in Maharashtra.

Goyal, a Rajya Sabha member, will debut in the Lok Sabha 2024 polls. Born and brought up in Mumbai, Goyal has been a three-time Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from the state. Also Read: BJP candidate list 2024: Rajya Sabha route? Not any more for these 7 Union ministers.

Details here Goyal joins his cabinet colleagues and Rajya Sabha members, Mansukh Mandaviya, Sarbananda Sonowal, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Bhupender Yadav, Purshotam Rupala and V Muraleedharan who will test the waters this time in the Lok Sabha elections. As per the norms, a Union Minister has to be a member of either house of Parliament—Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha. If a person who is not a member of either house is appointed a minister, he/she shall cease to be a minister after six months unless he/she is elected to either of the two houses.