Ramesh Bidhuri and Meenakshi Lekhi, BJP's current MPs from South Delhi and New Delhi respectively, were left out of the party's first list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
The BJP has decided to change four out of its five sitting MPs in Delhi, according to the latest announcement. Out of the seven seats, candidates for five have been announced by the party. Bansuri Swaraj, daughter of the late Sushma Swaraj, is set to make her electoral debut by contesting from the New Delhi Lok Sabha constituency.
Also Read: BJP Releases 1st List Of Candidates For Lok Sabha; PM Modi, 34 Ministers Included
Kamaljeet Sehrawat is set to contest from West Delhi, Praveen Khandelwal from Chandni Chowk, and Ramvir Singh Bidhuri from South Delhi.
The incumbent MPs from Delhi include Harsh Vardhan representing Chandni Chowk, Gautam Gambhir from East Delhi, Meenakshi Lekhi from New Delhi, Manoj Kumar Tiwari from North East Delhi, Hans Raj Hans from North West Delhi, Ramesh Bidhuri from South Delhi, and Parvesh Sahib Singh from West Delhi.
The BJP's release of its initial candidate list for 195 seats follows a late-night meeting at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence earlier this week to finalize the candidates.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set an ambitious target for the BJP to aim for at least 370 seats independently in the upcoming Lok Sabha election, with a broader objective of achieving over 400 seats collectively with the NDA.
The Election Commission is expected to announce the poll schedule later this month, with the elections anticipated to take place in April-May.
Also Read: After Gambhir, BJP MP Jayant Sinha Opts Out Of 2024 Lok Sabha Elections