The 12th list of seven candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, which are scheduled to start on Friday, was announced by the BJP on Tuesday. Among the seven candidates is Chhatrapati Udayanraje Bhosale, the 13th descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who will contest from Satara, Maharashtra, and Abhijit Das Bobby, who represents Diamond Harbour in West Bengal.

The current MP for the Trinamool Congress, Abhishek Banerjee, has been paired against Abhijit Das Bobby, who contested unsuccessfully for the Diamond Harbour seat in the general elections of 2009 and 2014.

Abhishek Banerjee won in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections with 40.31 percent of the vote, while Abhijit Das secured 15.92 percent of the vote to finish third. Dr. Abul Hasnat of CPI(M), who received 34.66% of the vote, came in second.

With 7,91,127 votes, the leader of the Trinamool Congress party was able to hold onto the seat in 2019. Nilanjan Roy of the BJP received 4,70,533 votes, while Fuad Halim of the CPI(M) secured third place with 93,941 votes.

The 13th descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Chhatrapati Udayanraje Bhosale, is another prominent figure on the list. He is contesting for the Satara Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra as a member of the BJP.

In the 2019 by-election, Bhosale—a former leader of the NCP who joined the BJP in 2022—lost the seat. There has been a back-and-forth in the seat on the Lok Sabha election candidate between the BJP and NCP.

Shashikant Shinde has received his ticket from the NCP (SP).

Shashank Mani Tripathi from Deoria and Thakur Vishwadeep Singh from Firozabad are the final candidates on the BJP’s 12th list.

In Uttar Pradesh, there are two seats.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Som Prakash’s wife Anita Som Prakash, who is a resident of Punjab, will contest for the Hoshiarpur seat in lieu of her husband.

Manjeet Singh Manna Miawind from Khadoor Sahib and Parampal Kaur Sidhu from Bathinda are the other two candidates, both of whom are from Punjab.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that India and Bihar are moving forward to return to their ancient glory and added the upcoming Lok Sabha elections is an election to take a resolve for developed India and developed Bihar. PM Modi was addressing an election rally in Bihar’s Gaya, where he said that the public support that has gathered on the land of Gaya clearly shows enthusiasm of the people once again for the Modi government.

The prime minister spoke on BJP’s manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections and said that it is for the first time that a Sankalp Patra of any party is being called a guarantee card as in the last 10 years, people have seen Modi’s guarantee for fulfillment of a guarantee.

PM Modi said for the next five years, Modi’s guarantee card has been updated. He promised 3 crore houses will be made for the poor, the poor will get free ration for the next 5 years and those above 70 years of age will receive free treatment upto Rs 5 lakhs He said the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi yojana will be continued and all of these are Modi’s guarantees.

The prime minister made a scathing attack at the opposition and said Ghamandia Gathbandhan has no vision or trust. He said when INDIA bloc alliance goes out asking for votes, then they do so on the basis of the work done by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. PM Modi said the people of Bihar know why they try and take credit for the work done by Nitish and the central government.

The prime minister said RJD is responsible for destroying Bihar and slammed Lalu’s party over various corruption cases including land for jobs scam, fodder scam. Speaking about BJP’s manifesto PM Modi said, there is a roadmap for every section and sector of the society.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh today read a message of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during a press confrence. The AAP leader said that  Kejriwal  has sent a message from Tihar Jail in which he said that he is not a terrorist.

Sanjay Singh said, Tihar jail conveyed a message from Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, who served like a son and a brother for the country and the people of Delhi. The Aap MP further read CM’s message, which says, “My name is Arvind Kejriwal and I am not a terrorist.”

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was compelled to meet the three-time elected chief minister of Delhi through a glass. This clearly shows that the prime minister dislikes Arvind Kejriwal,” the AAP MP claimed.

Arvind Kejriwal is among the people arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case. Arvind Kejriwal is being held under judicial custody at the Tihar jail at the moment.

A Delhi court extended Arvind Kejriwal’s judicial custody on Monday until April 23. The Delhi High Court’s decision to reject the AAP national convenor’s appeal against his ED arrest and subsequent remand in the excise policy issue was challenged by the convenor in an earlier Supreme Court application.

Sanjay Singh also claimed during the press conference that efforts are made to demoralize every day. He also said, Arvind Kejriwal is this person, he is not formed of the same clay. The more you attempt to break him, the more resilient he will become. CM Bhagwant Mann broke down in tears yesterday at the meeting. They are all affected by this, but the BJP and PM Modi should be ashamed of themselves, the AAP MP claimed.

Bhagwant Mann met Arvind Kejriwal in Tihar jail on Monday, where he claimed he was being treated like a terrorist. Meanwhile, the AAP announced that its Delhi government would begin operating from jail in a proper format, with the chief minister scheduled to meet with two ministers starting next week.