LS to miss Vajpayee, Somnath; many old timers at the hustings

The 15th Lok Sabha will miss the experience and wit of two veterans - Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Somnath Chatterjee, but it is likely to present a host of regulars like L K Advani and P Chidambaram who have prominently represented the Indian polity.

The 15th Lok Sabha will miss the experience and wit of two veterans - Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Somnath Chatterjee, but it is likely to present a host of regulars like L K Advani and P Chidambaram who have prominently represented the Indian polity.

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Both Vajpayee and Chatterjee were elected ten times to the Lok Sabha and are not contesting the polls this time. Former Union Minister George Fernandes and Congress leader Giridhar Gamang, both nine time MPs, are contesting the Lok Sabha polls again.

Fernandes is contesting as an Independent from Muzaffarpur in Bihar while the former Orissa Chief Minister is Congress candidate from Koraput seat.

In the outgoing 14th Lok Sabha, there were 11 MPs who were elected eight times and except late former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar, late Union Minister A B A Ghani Khan Choudhury and former Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma, all are trying their luck.

Prominent among those who are contesting the polls include Basudeb Acharia, Hannan Mollah (both CPI-M) and Ram Vilas Paswan (LJP).