BJP names 9 more candidates, Shirol to contest from Pune

BJP today announced a fresh list of nine candidates -- three in Maharashtra, two in Uttar Pradesh and four in Odisha -- for the Lok Sabha polls.
The party fielded Pune unit president Anil Shirol from the Pune Lok Sabha seat. Shirol, a Gopinath Munde loyalist, was locked in a fierce contest with Girish Bapat, a supporter former BJP president Nitin Gadkari, for the seat.
BJP national spokesperson Prakash Javadekar was also vying for a party ticket from the constituency.
BJP nominated Heena Vijaykumar Gavit, daughter of a former NCP minister, from the Nandurbar (ST) seat. Vijaykumar Gavit had to quit as the minister in the Maharashtra cabinet after his daughter joined the BJP.

BJP state executive committee member Sunil Gaikwad will contest from the Latur (SC) constituency in Maharashtra on the party's ticket.
In Uttar Pradesh, the party has fielded Kanwar Singh Tanwar from the Amroha constituency despite opposition from local BJP leaders. The party also nominated Vagish Pathak from Badun seat in UP.
In Odisha, Sameer Dey has been fielded from Cuttack while Bishnu Das has been fielded from the Kendrapada constituency. From Puri, the party has fielded Ashok Sahu while from Bhubaneshwar, it has fielded Prithviraj Harichandan.
Party general secretary Thawarchand Gehlot said the decision on these seats was taken in the party's Central Election Committee meeting.