NEW DELHI: The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday released its second list of
72 candidates
for upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The list includes Union minister
Nitin Gadkari
and
Piyush Goyal
among the 20 candidates announced from Maharashtra. While Nitin Gadkari will contest from Nagpur, Piyush Goyal is set to make his Lok Sabha poll debut from Mumbai North constituency.
Union minister Piyush Goyal, who has a 35-year-long political career, has held important positions at various levels within the BJP.
Currently serving as a Rajya Sabha MP, He is also the leader of the Upper House.
Pankaja Munde, the daughter of late BJP stalwart Gopinath Munde, has been announced as a candidate from Beed constituency in Maharashtra.
The much-awaited news about Nitin Gadkari's candidacy came in the second list of BJP, surprising many who expected him to be in the first list. Earlier, Uddhav Thackeray of Maha Vikas Aghadi had extended an invitation to Gadkari to join forces and contest from the RSS citadel Nagpur, after the declaration of BJP's first list on March 2. However, Union minister Gadkari straightaway turned down Uddhav Thackeray's invitation to contest
Lok Sabha polls
for Maha Vikas Aghadi, calling it immature and ridiculous. As the BJP announced its second list, Gadkari is set to run for the Nagpur seat for the third consecutive time.
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