The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday released its first list of candidates, announcing names for 17 out of the 23 seats it will be contesting in Punjab. Among the 17 candidates announced by the BJP, five are sitting MLAs from Bhoa, Dasuya, Jalandhar North, Pathankot and Sujanpur. Union Minister JP Nadda (pictured above), who is also the party’s Central Election Committee Secretary, said the remaining names would be announced later.
In all the six seats for which the BJP did not announce the names, the party has sitting MLAs. The decision to not announce names for these seats indicates that some of the sitting MLAs could be replaced, according to PTI. While four of them are ministers in the state cabinet, many are over 75 years of age.
Out of the 117 seats in the Punjab Assembly, the BJP will contest in 23 seats while its ally Shiromani Akali Dal will fight in the remaining 94 seats. The SAD-BJP alliance is facing anti-incumbency sentiments in the state where Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party has emerged as a significant player. Punjab will go to polls on February 4.
Both the BJP and Congress also released their first list of candidates for the upcoming Assembly election in Goa. Out of the 29 names announced by the BJP, 18 are sitting MLAs. Chief Minister Laxmikant Yeshwant Parsekar will be contesting the polls from Mandrem constituency. However, the ruling party did not announce candidates for Mayem and Canacona seats. Like Punjab, Goa will also vote on February 4. Results of the state elections will be announced on March 11.
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