BJP declares 15 candidates for Madhya Pradesh, five sitting MPs dropped along with Vajpayee's nephew

It is to be seen whether former MP and Vajpayee's nephew Anoop Mishra will be fielded from Gwalior after losing two consecutive assembly polls from Bhitarwar (Gwalior) after being denied ticket.
BJP declares 15 candidates for Madhya Pradesh, five sitting MPs dropped along with Vajpayee's nephew

BHOPAL: After a long wait, the BJP finally declared its first list of 15 candidates for Lok Sabha polls in Madhya Pradesh.

As many as five sitting MP’s were denied tickets, while union minister Narendra Singh Tomar, the sitting MP from Gwalior constituency, has been shifted to adjoining Morena Lok Sabha seat, which he won in 2009.

The five sitting MP’s denied tickets, included former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s nephew Anoop Mishra (Morena), Betul MP Jyoti Dhurve (who is caught in fake caste certificate row), Chintamani Malviya (Ujjain), Dr Bhagirath Prasad (Bhind) and Gyan Singh (Shahdol).

It is to be seen whether former MP and Vajpayee's nephew Anoop Mishra will be fielded from Gwalior after losing two consecutive assembly polls from Bhitarwar (Gwalior) after being denied ticket.

While Gwalior MP and union minister Narendra Singh Tomar has been fielded from Morena, Durgadas Uikey has been fielded from Betul-ST seat, union minister Thawarchand Gehlot’s loyalist Anil Firojiya (Ujjain-SC), Dr Sandhya Rai (Bhind) and Himadri Singh (Shahdol).

Among the new faces, the Ujjain candidate Anil Firojiya has been rewarded despite losing the recent assembly poll from Tarana seat of Ujjain district possibly owing to his proximity to union minister Thanwar Chand Gehlot as well as ex-Cm Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Dr Sandhya Rai, who won the 2008 assembly polls, but was denied ticket in 2018 assembly polls has been fielded from Bhind-SC seat.

Another new face, the 31-year-old Himadri Singh is the daughter of ex-Congress MP’s Dalbir Singh (ex-union minister) and Rajesh Nandini Singh. Himadri lost the 2016 Lok Sabha by-election from Shahdol-ST seat to BJP’s tribal strongman Gyan Singh by 60,000 votes. She recently joined the BJP and was being seen as the frontrunner for BJP ticket from Shahdol-ST seat.

While five sitting MP’s have been denied tickets, ten other sitting MP’s including Ganesh Singh (Satna), Riti Pathak (Sidhi), Janardan Mishra (Rewa), ex-union minister Faggan Singh Kulaste (Mandla), state BJP president and three-time sitting MP Rakesh Singh (Jabalpur), ex union minister Prahlad Patel (Damoh), union minister of state Virendra Kumar Khateek (Tikamgarh-SC), Sudhir Gupta (Mandsaur), Rao Udai Pratap Singh (Hoshangabad) and Nand Kumar Singh Chauhan (Khandwa) have been repeated.

Those sitting MP’s who have been retained despite high anti-incumbency and opposition from within party ranks, include Sudhir Gupta (Mandsaur), Janardan Mishra (Rewa), Virendra Kumar Khateek (Tikamgarh), Faggan Singh Kulaste (Mandla) and Ritu Pathak (Sidhi).

Meanwhile, informed sources in Mandsaur said that former MP BJP Kisan Morcha chief Bansilal Gurjar, is likely to hold press conference in Mandsaur on Sunday, where he might announce contesting as independent from Mandsaur seat.

In 2014, BJP had won 27 out of 29 seats in MP. Lok Sabha polls in MP will be held in four phases, April 29, May 6, May 12 and May 19.

Reacting to BJP's list, Congress state media convener NS Saluja said denying ticket to Anoop Mishra means the end of Atal-Advani era in MP BJP.

"Anoop Mishra seems to have got punishment for speaking truth, while union minister Narendra Singh Tomar has shifted to Morena out of fear of defeat from Gwalior," said Saluja.

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