BJP fields Shivraj from Vidisha, Scindia from Guna for LS polls; 10 MPs dropped

Speaking to the reports outside his house on Saturday, Chouhan praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that the BJP will win all 29 constituencies in Madhya Pradesh in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections

Published on: Mar 3, 2024, 11:25:50 IST

By Shruti Tomar

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Bhopal: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday announced its initial list of 24 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh, showcasing prominent names such as former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.

BJP announced its first list of candidates on Saturday for Lok Sabha polls (File Photo)

Chouhan has been fielded from Vidisha, a seat he won five times in the past from 1991 to 2004, while Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia will contest from the Guna seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Vidisha has been a strong bastion for the BJP since 1989. Chouhan, who is a sitting MLA from Budhni, represented the Vidisha seat five times.

Speaking to the reports outside his house on Saturday, Chouhan praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that the BJP will win all 29 constituencies in Madhya Pradesh in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Chouhan, who served as the chief minister of MP for 15 years, said that he is “grateful” to the central leadership for giving him the “privilege” to serve the public.

From Bhopal, the BJP dropped MP Pragya Singh Thakur and instead fielded Alok Sharma, a former mayor. Sharma lost the election from the Bhopal north seat against Congress’s Atif Aqueel in the 2023 assembly election.

Former minister Bharat Singh Kushwaha, who lost the assembly election from Gwalior, has been made fielded from Gwalior. Former minister Rahul Lodhi, who lost the assembly election from the Kharagpur seat in Tikamgarh, has been given a ticket from Damoh.

The party has also given the tickets to BJP farmer wing state president Darshan Singh Chaudhary from Hoshangabad and former BJP state women wing president Lata Wankhede from Sagar.

Shivmangal Singh Tomar, a close aide of MP assembly speaker Narendra Singh Tomar, has been fielded from the Morena seat. High profile Morena seat was left vacant by former Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar, who became MLA from Dimani and later the MP assembly speaker.

Dr Rajesh Mishra and Ashish Dubey have been given tickets from Sidhi and Jabalpur, respectively after Riti Pathak and Rakesh Singh left their seats after winning the assembly election in 2023.

Notably, the BJP repeated 13 sitting MPs in its list and introduced 11 fresh faces, including Morena, Gwalior, and Sagar.

The sitting MPs, who will contest the Lok Sabha election, include Janardan Mishra from Rewa, Rodmal Nagar from Rajgarh, Mahendra Solanki from Dewas, Sudhir Gupta from Mandsaur, Gajendra Patel from Khargone, Gyaneshwar Patil from Khandwa and Durgadas Uike from Betul.

Other MPs who have been dropped from the list are – Vivek Shejwalakar from Gwalior, Rajbahadur Singh from Sagar, Uday Pratap Singh from Hoshangabad, Ramakant Bhargava from Vidisha and Guman Singh Damor from Ratlam.

The party is yet to declare its candidates for five seats, including Chhindwara. In the 2019 general elections, the BJP secured 28 out of 29 Lok Sabha seats from MP.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shruti Tomar
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More

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