BJP fields Jaya Prada, Rita Bahuguna Joshi, Maneka and Varun Gandhi from UP in 10th list of candidates

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday released names of 39 candidates from upcoming Lok Sabha Elections. Out of this, 29 names are from politically crucial Uttar Pradesh and 10 others from West Bengal. Among heavyweights who have been named in the list are Rita Bahugana Joshi, Varun Gandhi, Jaya Prada, Mahendra Nath Pandey, and Varun Gandhi. 

While Union Minister Maneka Gandhi will contest from Sultanpur, her son Varun Gandhi will fight from Pilibhit. The BJP has fielded Rita Bahuguna Joshi from Allahabad. 

"I'm feeling happy, I'm thankful to Amit Shah ji and Modi ji for having the confidence in me & giving me this seat. Rampur has always given me love and affection, the people love me with all their hearts, It feels like I'm going back home," said Jaya Prada after BJP fielded her from Rampur parliamentary seat.

BJP has given the ticket to senior by leader Satyadev Pachauri from Kanpur. The development comes days after Lok Sabha MP Murli Manohar Joshi was asked by his party to not contest the coming general elections. 

Joshi's office confirmed the development. It said Joshi has issued a brief statement for voters in Kanpur, from where the 85-year-old leader had won in 2014. He had vacated Varanasi seat, which he had won in 2009, for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014. 

UP BJP president Mahendra Nath Pandey has been repeated from Chandauli, Singh said. 

The names from Uttar Pradesh in the list are Jaya Prada (Rampur), Varun Gandhi (Pilibhit), Rekha Verma (Dhaurahra), Maneka Gandhi (Sultanpur), Mukesh Rajpoot (Farrukhabad), Ram Shankar Katheria (Etawah), Subrat Pathak (Kannauj), Satyadev Pachauri (Kanpur), Devendra Singh Bhole (Akbarpur), Bhanu Pratap Verma (Jalaun), Pushpendra Singh Chandel (Hamirpur), Pankaj Chaudhary (Maharajganj), Vijay Dubey (Kushi Nagar), Kamlesh Paswan (Bansgaon), Ravindra Kushwaha (Salempur), Virendra Singh Mast (Ballia), Manoj Sinha (Ghazipur), Mahendra Nath Pandey (Chandauli). 

The BJP has also fielded former Trinamool Congress minister Humayun Kabir from the Murshidabad seat. Kabir was expelled from the Bengal's ruling party in 2015 for alleged anti-party activities. 

He is pitted against Trinamool Congress' Abu Taher Khan and CPI-M's Badruddoza Khan, the sitting MP.

The party has nominated actor Joy Banerjee from the Uluberia seat in Howrah district, while late Matua matriarch Binapani Devi's grandson Matua Mahasangha leader Shantanu Thakur has been fielded from the Bangaon constituency, largely dominated by the Dalit community.