BJP releases first list of 195 candidates: Modi from Varanasi, Amit Shah from Gandhinagar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh were named in the first list of candidates announced by the Bharatiya Janata Party for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Modi will be contesting from Varanasi for the third time, Amit Shah has been fielded again from Gandhinagar in Gujarat. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will contest from Lucknow and Smriti Irani will be fighting from Amethi, from where she defeated Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in 2019.

Union ministers Rajeev Chandrashekhar will be contesting from Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram, the constituency currently held by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, and Jyotiraditya Scindia from Madhya Pradesh's Guna.

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, who had been elected from the Rajya Sabha earlier, will be contesting from Porbandar in Gujarat.

BJP has also fielded former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, suggesting that he may be pitted for national role.

In the first list, the BJP announced 195 candidates, of which 34 are ministers and two former chief ministers. The BJP announced the highest 51 names from Uttar Pradesh, followed by 20 from West Bengal and five from Delhi. From New Delhi, the late Sushma Swaraj's daughter Bansuri will be contesting.