The BJP on March 24, released its fifth list of Lok Sabha candidates for the upcoming general elections. 111 candidates from 17 states, including actress Kangana Ranaut from Himachal Pradesh's Mandi have are being fielded. The BJP is also fielding Arun Govil, who played Ram in the popular Ramayana TV series from the late 1980s and 1990s. Arun will be contesting from Meerut. Also in the list are former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi who will contest from Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh, and industrialist Naveen Jindal from Kurukshetra in Haryana.
Meanwhile former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who quit the bench recently and joined the BJP, has been fielded from West Bengal's Tamluk seat.
Other prominent candidates include Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan from Odisha's Sambalpur, former IAS officer Aparajita Sarangi from Bhubaneswar, party spokesman Sambit Patra from Puri, Andhra Pradesh unit chief D Purandeswari from Rajahmundry, and former Andhra Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, who quit the Congress.
In Bihar, the party has fielded Union Ministers RK Singh from Arrah, Nityanand Rai from Ujiarpur, and Giriraj Singh from Begusarai. Former Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad from Patna Sahib, Rajiv Pratap Rudy from Saran, Radha Mohan Singh from Purvi Champaran, and Ram Kripal Yadav from Pataliputra are also on the list. Sita Soren, who recently joined the BJP from the JMM, has been fielded from Dumka.
Former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, who recently returned to the party from the Congress, has been fielded from Belgaum and former state minister K Sudhakar from Chikballapur. In Kerala, state chief K Surendran has been fielded from Wayanad, where Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is contesting.
Sitting MP Varun Gandhi has been denied a ticket from UP's Pilibhit and UP minister Jitin Prasad fielded in his place. Longtime Bareilly MP and former Union Minister Santosh Gangwar has also been dropped and Chhatrapal Singh Gangwar was named the candidate.
The BJP has fielded Atul Garg from Ghaziabad, as sitting MP and Union Minister, Gen VK Singh (retd) expressed his unwillingness to contest the polls.