BJP declares two more Lok Sabha candidates in Gujarat

The BJP Tuesday declared two more candidates for the Lok Sabha elections in Gujarat, taking the total number of its nominees to 25 in the state.

In its latest list, the ruling party dropped its current MP from Mehsana, but retained the sitting Lok Sabha member from Surat.

With this,the BJP has declared candidates on 25 out of the 26 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

The saffron outfit has dropped its sitting MPs on nine seats and renominated 16 Members of Parliament, who were elected in 2014.

In Mehsana, the BJP has given ticket to Shardaben Patel, the wife of late BJP leader Anil Patel, replacing its sitting MP Jayshree Patel.

Mehsana is a crucial seat for the BJP as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's birthplace Vadnagar is located in the district.

The BJP retained sitting Surat MP Darshana Jardosh, who has won from the seat two times.

Ahmedabad East is the only Lok Sabha seat, where the party is yet to declare its candidate.

Veteran actor Paresh Rawal is the sitting MP from Ahmedabad East and he has decided not to contest polls this time citing his busy acting schedule.

Among prominent MPs, the party has dropped patriarch L K Advani (91) from the Gandhinagar seat and Union minister Haribhai Chaudhary from Banaskantha.

The BJP has fielded its president Amit Shah from Gandhinagar, a prestigious seat held by Advani since 1991.

Shah filed his nomination papers from the Gandhinagar seat last Saturday after taking out a massive rally and road show in the constituency.

The Congress, on the other hand, has declared only 14 candidates so far and the remaining names are expected to be declared by Wednesday.

The last date of filing nominations for elections in Gujarat is April 4.

Polling will be held in Gujarat in a single phase on April 23.

The BJP had won all the 26 seats in 2014 in the home state of Modi and Shah.