Lok Sabha polls: BJP's fourth list out, Tamil Nadu candidates finalised

Lok Sabha polls: In its latest list, the BJP revealed 15 candidates, including 14 for Tamil Nadu and one for Puducherry. The party has fielded Puducherry Home Minister A Namassivayam from the UT

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its fourth list of 15 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. "BJP candidates for ensuing general elections 2024 to the parliamentary constituencies of Puducherry and Tamil Nadu finalised by BJP CEC," the party's official press release read.

In Tamil Nadu, the party has fielded Pon V Balaganapathy from Tiruvallur, RC Paul Kanagaraj from Chennai (North), A Ashwathaman from Tiruvannamalai, KP Ramalingam from Namakkal and AP Muruganandam from Tiruppur.

K Vasantharajan will contest from Pollachi, VV Senthilnathan from Karur, P Karthiyayini from Chidambaram (SC), SGM Ramesh from Nagapattinam, M Muruganandam from Thanjavur, Devanathan Yadav from Sivaganga, Raama Sreenivasan from Madurai, Raadhika Sarathkumar from Virudhunagar and B John Pandian from Tenkasi (SC).

According to the list, Puducherry Home Minister A Namassivayam will contest the lone seat in the Union Territory of Puducherry for the upcoming polls. Namassivayam, 55, is former Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) President. This will be his time contesting the general election.

BJP's third list for Lok Sabha polls

On Thursday, the BJP had released its third list, which included big guns such as K. Annamalai (from Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu) and former Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan (from Chennai South).

Tamil Nadu has 39 parliamentary seats, set to go to polls in a single phase on April 19. In the 2019 polls, the state elected the ruling party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), from 38 constituencies.

BJP's 2019 performance

The BJP, which failed to make a mark in the southern state, has ramped up its efforts in hopes of gaining a foothold in Tamil Nadu. The party had contested the last battle in an alliance with the state Opposition AIADMK. However, the two parties parted ways in September 2023.

Other than the 39 constituencies of Tamil Nadu, 63 more seats across 20 states and UTs will go to polls in the first phase of elections. The remaining elections will be conducted in six subsequent phases on April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1. The counting of votes will be done June 4.