BJP first list: Why party made major line-up changes in Delhi, Chhattisgarh for LS polls

The BJP in its first list for the Lok Sabha elections has chosen to retain many of its candidates from crucial states such as Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, keeping it more conventional in the two Hindi heartland states, even as it made major replacements in Delhi and Chhattisgarh. Some sitting MPs were dropped in Rajasthan and Assam too.

Though the party has performed well in Delhi and Chhattisgarh in the last two elections — it swept all seats in the national Capital the last two times, and won 10 of Chhattisgarh’s 11 seats in 2014 and won nine last time — it weighed in factors such as winnability, candidates’ image among voters, and connection with party workers while deciding on the list.

The decision to field Bansuri Swaraj, the daughter of former Union Minister Sushma Swaraj who died in 2019, from the New Delhi seat is being attributed to major support among party workers as she is known to have been very active in connecting with them in recent times. “She is very approachable and party workers see the image of her late mother Sushma Swaraj in her,” said a senior Delhi BJP leader.

The extent of change in five seats in the national Capital declared till now is such that only Manoj Tiwari has retained his constituency. Even former Union Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, who lost his ministerial berth in 2021, has been overlooked. On Sunday, Harsh Vardhan announced that he was quitting active politics.

In Chhattisgarh, only two candidates have been retained, with the rest either dropped or having moved to the Assembly during last year’s state elections. The seats of Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, Arun Sao, and Renuka Singh fell vacant when they became MLAs. Former CM and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel’s nephew Vijay Baghel