Nitin Gadkari, Piyush Goyal, and Pankaja Munde are among the 20 BJP candidates contesting from Maharashtra.

BJP on Wednesday announced its second list of 72 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, out of which 20 candidates have been named from Maharashtra

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) unveiled its second list of candidates for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, with a focus on Maharashtra, featuring prominent figures like Nitin Gadkari and Piyush Goyal. The list includes 20 candidates from Maharashtra, showcasing the party's strategic positioning in the state. Notable mentions from the list include Nitin Gadkari contesting from Nagpur and Piyush Goyal from Mumbai North.

Here's the condensed list of BJP candidates and their respective constituencies in Maharashtra:

1. Nitin Jairam Gadkari - Nagpur

2. Piyush Goyal - Mumbai North

3. Dr Heena Vijaykumar Gavit - Nadurbar (ST)

4. Dr Subhash Ramrao Bhamre - Dhule

5. Smita Wagh - Jalgaon

6. Raksha Nikhil Khadase - Raver

7. Anup Dhotre - Akola

8. Ramdas Chandrabhanji Tadas - Wardha

9. Sudhir Mungantiwar - Chandrapur

10. Prataprao Patil Chikhalikar - Nanded

11. Raosaheb Dadarao Danve - Jalna

12. Bharati Pravin Pawar - Dindori (ST)

13. Kapil Moreshwar Patil - Bhiwandi

14. Mihir Kotecha - Mumbai North East

15. Murlidhar Kisan Mohol - Pune

16. Sujay Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil - Ahmadnagar

17. Pankaja Munde - Beed

18. Sudhakar Tukaram Shrangare - Latur (SC)

19. Ranjeetsinha Hindurao Naik-Nimbalkar - Madha

20. Sanjaykaka Patil - Sangli

Contrary to earlier speculation, Nitin Gadkari's absence from the initial candidate list led to Uddhav Thackeray's offer for him to contest under the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) banner. However, Gadkari dismissed this offer as "immature and ridiculous," reaffirming his allegiance to the BJP's systematic ticket allocation process. It's worth noting that Gadkari, a stalwart in Maharashtra politics, remains the incumbent MP from Nagpur, having won the seat in both the 2014 and 2019 general elections.