Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi dropped, Bansuri Swaraj named in BJP’s first list

Ramesh Bidhuri, BJP’s sitting MP from South Delhi, and Meenakshi Lekhi, MP from New Delhi, were omitted from the party’s first candidate list for the upcoming Lok Sabha election.

The party has decided to replace four out of five sitting MPs in Delhi, as revealed in the latest announcement. Out of the seven seats, the BJP announced candidates for five seats.

Notably, Bansuri Swaraj, daughter of the late Sushma Swaraj, will be entering the electoral fray for the first time, contesting from the New Delhi Lok Sabha constituency.

Kamaljeet Sehrawat will be contesting from West Delhi, Praveen Khandelwal from Chandni Chowk and Ramvir Singh Bidhuri from South Delhi.

The current MPs from Delhi are Harsh Vardhan (Chandni Chowk), Gautam Gambhir (East Delhi), Meenakashi Lekhi (New Delhi), Manoj Kumar Tiwari (North East Delhi), Hans Raj Hans (North West Delhi), Ramesh Bidhuri (South Delhi) and Parvesh Sahib Singh (West Delhi).

The BJP’s announcement of the first list of candidates for 195 seats comes after PM Modi held a late-night meeting at his residence earlier this week to finalise the candidates.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a challenging objective for the BJP to secure at least 370 seats on its own in the forthcoming Lok Sabha election, while aiming for over 400 seats collectively with the NDA.

The Election Commission is anticipated to release the poll schedule later this month, with the elections likely to be conducted in April-May.