With eye on Lok Sabha polls, BJP placates Gajendra Singh Shekhawat with LS ticket from Jodhpur

The move to give ticket to Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who was also among frontrunners along with other bigwigs for Chief Minister's post, is believed to be a well-thought-out move by the BJP to placate the veteran who is crucial to party's prospects in the coming Lok Sabha polls in the state.

Jaipur: Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who was once a frontrunner for Rjasthan Chief Minister's post, has been named as a candidature from Jodhpur constituency in Rajasthan for the upcoming Lok Sabha election, in what can be termed as a move by the saffron party to placate him.

Soon after his candidature was announced, Shekhawat reciprocated with 'thanks' to the state Chief Minister and party leadership. He said that he has once again received the opportunity to serve the people of Jodhpur. The 56-year-old Shekhawat, who was born in Jaisalmeer, did not contest the Rajasthan Assembly elections. Speculations ran high over the prospect of his becoming the Rajasthan Chief Minister then. There was talks of party's possible move to get him elected to the Assembly within the next six months soon after assembly result was out.

With the high-stakes Lok Sabha polls are approaching, the BJP's decision is considered as a step to keep the veteran in good humour ahead of the general elections.

"I would like to thank Rajasthan BJP President CP Joshi, Rajasthan CM Bhajanlal Sharma and the senior leadership of the party. I have once again received the opportunity to serve the people of Jodhpur," Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said. The BJP on Saturday released its first list of 15 candidates from Rajasthan for the upcoming general elections, naming Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, four Union ministers and a Paralympian.

The BJP gave tickets to Mahendrajit Malviya and Jyoti Mirdha, who quit the Congress and joined the BJP. The party also gave tickets once again to former chief minister Vasundhara Raje's son and sitting MP Dushyant Singh from the Jhalawar Baran. Meanwhile, on her candidature from Korba in Chhattisgarh, BJP leader Saroj Pandey said, "I thank the party for the opportunity & will live up to the trust of the party." The Bharatiya Janata Party released its first list of 195 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls on Saturday. According to the first list, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will contest the Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi again.

Of the 195 candidates, 34 are ministers from the Centre and States. While announcing the first list, BJP National General Secretary Vinod Tawde said, "PM Modi to contest Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi, Union Minister for Law and Justice Kiran Rijiju to contest from Arunachal West, BJP MP Bishnu Pada Ray to contest from Andaman & Nicobar, BJP MP Tapir Gao to contest from Arunachal East, and Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to contest from Dibrugarh."

Home Minister Amit Shah will contest from Gandhinagar, while Mansukh Mandaviya will contest from Porbandar. "The names of 195 candidates have been finalised. The list includes 47 youth candidates, 28 women candidates, 27 Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates, 18 Scheduled Tribes (ST) candidates and 57 OBC/Backward Class candidates. The party has announced the list keeping all communities in focus," said BJP leader Vinod Tawde while addressing the media here in Delhi.

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar will contest from Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram. Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will contest from Dibrugarh, Kiren Rijiju from Arunachal Pradesh. Former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's daughter, Bansuri Swaraj, has been fielded from New Delhi.

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will contest from Lucknow, and Smriti Irani will again contest from Amethi. Ajay Mishra Teni, MOS Home, will again contest from Khiri. BJP leader Alok Sharma will contest from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, while former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will contest from Vidisha.

Jyotiraditya Scindia, who joined the BJP from the Congress in 2020, will contest from Guna in Madhya Pradesh. The BJP announced Lok Sabha candidates for 5 Delhi seats as well. BJP leader Manoj Tiwari will contest from North-East Delhi. Late leader Sushma Swaraj's daughter Bansuri Swara will contest from New Delhi.

Kamaljeet Sehrawat will contest from West Delhi and Ramvir Singh Bidhuri from South Delhi. Praveen Khandelwal, Confederation of All India Traders chief, to contest from Delhi's Chandni Chowk. Pragya Singh Thakur has been dropped. The announcement of the candidate list follows a marathon meeting of the central election committee (CEC) of the BJP in the early hours of Friday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP's National President JP Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Organisation General Secretary BL Santosh, Chief Ministers, State Presidents, In-charges, Co-Incharges, and Election In-charges of various states were present in this meeting.

The Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Assam, Uttarakhand, and Goa were present at the meeting. Earlier in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP-led National Democratic (NDA) won a total of 303 seats, leaving the grand-old party behind at 52 seats. The Lok Sabha polls are slated to be held in April-May this year.

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