Bhopal: Will BJP re-nominate the four former party MPs including two ex-Union ministers, who have resigned from the parliament after being elected to Madhya Pradesh assembly in the November 17 polls, for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, due in April-May this year, for their respective home constituencies?The inclusion of their names in the panel of prospective candidates prepared by the party for the six Lok Sabha constituencies in Madhya Pradesh has given rise to the speculation that the BJP may be weighing the options of fielding these party heavyweights in their former LS constituencies to retain the seats in the ensuing polls in the state.A senior party functionary disclosed to this newspaper here on Friday that names of the two-ex Union ministers, Narendra Singh Tomar and Prallhad Patel, and two former MPs, Rakesh Singh and Rithi Pathak, were discussed along with other prospective candidates at the meeting of the state election committee of the party, held here a couple of days ago, before preparing the panel of names for the six LS constituencies for its submission to the parliamentary board of BJP for further scrutiny.The BJP had fielded seven MPs including three Union ministers in the just concluded assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh.Of them, five have been elected to the state assembly in the recently held polls.The other former MP who has been elected to the state assembly is Rao Uday Singh.All the five former MPs including two ex-Union ministers who won the assembly polls have later resigned from Lok Sabha to become members of MP assembly.While Mr Tomar is appointed speaker of the state assembly, Mr Patel and Mr Singh have been made members of the state cabinet.The party leadership may be toying with the idea of fielding four of them in the upcoming LS polls if they will be found the best bet for the party to retain their home constituencies in the LS polls, sources revealed.BJP won a landslide victory in the November 17 assembly polls in MP by securing 163 seats in the 230-member house.Hence, the party can afford to take the risk of re-nominating the four heavyweights from their respective home constituencies in the coming LS polls, sources said.Sources said that the party may declare candidates for these six LS seats by the end of this month.BJP has prepared the panel of prospective candidates for the six LS constituencies, Morena, Jabalpur, Sidhi, Damoh, Hosangabad and Chhindwara, for submission to the parliamentary board of the party for further scrutiny.The party had won 28 out of 29 LS seats in MP in the 2019 LS polls.
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