Lok Sabha elections 2019: Four sitting MPs dropped as BJP announced candidate list in Maharashtra

The four candidates who will replace sitting MPs include state minister Girish Bapat (Pune), Bharati Pawar (Dindori), BJP MLC Smita Wagh (Jalgaon), Jaysidheshwar Swami (Solapur).

BJP released names of another six candidates from Maharashtra for the Lok Sabha polls on Saturday. The party has dropped sitting MPs of four constituencies—Solapur, Dindori, Pune and Jalgaon.

Lok Sabha elections 2019: Four sitting MPs dropped as BJP announced candidate list in Maharashtra (AFP)

The four candidates who will replace sitting MPs include state minister Girish Bapat (Pune), Bharati Pawar (Dindori), BJP MLC Smita Wagh (Jalgaon), Jaysidheshwar Swami (Solapur).

Swami is a spiritual guru of the Lingayat community that has significant presence in the Solapur constituency. While Wagh, also former Zilla Parishad president from Jalgaon is the wife of Jalgaon district head Uday Wagh. The couple is considered to be close to state water resources minister Girish Mahajan, also from North Maharashtra.

Shiv Sena legislator Pratap Chiklikar and Kanchan Kul has been named as candidates for two of the toughest seats in the state, Nanded and Baramati respectively.

Nanded is represented by state Congress president Ashok Chavan and Baramati is home turf of NCP MP and daughter of party chief Sharad Pawar, Supriya Sule.

Three term MP from Dindori, Harishchandra Chavan, Pune’s MP Anil Shirole, Solapur MP Sharad Bansode and Jalgaon MP A T Patil have been dropped. Both Chavan and Patil had significant victory margins in the 2014 polls.

In Baramati, Kanchan Kul, wife of Daund legislator (Pune district, falls in the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency) from the Rashtriya Samaj Paksha, a smaller ally of BJP, has been given the ticket to take on Sule.