The BJP on Sunday fielded Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology SS Ahluwalia from the Burdwan-Durgapur parliamentary seat in West Bengal instead of his present Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency.
Whereas, in Darjeeling, the BJP has replaced Ahluwalia with Raju Singh Bista, who is backed by the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) and Bimal Gurung faction of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM).
After his candidature was announced, Ahluwalia said he was grateful to the party leadership for nominating him from the seat where he learnt most important lessons of his life.
He tweeted, “I’m grateful to Waheguru & thankful to the Party, Shri Narendra Modiji & Shri Amit Shahji for reposing faith in me yet again & nominating me to contest Lok Sabha frm Bardhaman-Durgapur,an area I spent most of my youth in. I look fwd to serving the people of Bardhaman and Durgapur.”
I’m grateful to Waheguru & thankful to the Party, Shri Narendra Modiji & Shri Amit Shahji for reposing faith in me yet again & nominating me to contest Lok Sabha frm Bardhaman-Durgapur,an area I spent most of my youth in.I look fwd to serving the people of Bardhaman and Durgapur
— SS Ahluwalia (@SSAhluwaliaMP) April 7, 2019
ALSO READ: ‘Ab Hoga NYAY’: Congress launches Lok Sabha 2019 campaign
On the other hand, the ruling TMC in Bengal has fielded Mamtaz Sanghamita again for the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
With the announcement of Ahluwalia, the party has announced 408 candidates for the seven-phase Lok Sabha polls which will start on April 11 and continue till May 19. The counting of the votes will take place on May 23.