BJP fields Shahnawaz Hussain in Bhagalpur, Rampal Singh in Vidisha

Former Union Minister Shahnawaz Hussain will be BJP's candidate in the Bhagalpur Lok Sabha byelection, while Madhya Pradesh Public Health Engineering Minister Rampal Singh will contest the prestigious Vidisha Lok Sabha seat on the party ticket, ending speculations about fielding Maneka Gandhi's son Varun Gandhi or Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's wife Rekha Singh.

Mr Hussain, considered as 'the Muslim face of the BJP' in Bihar was the Civil Aviation Minister in the Vajpayee government but had lost in the Kishanganj Lok Sabha seat in the last election.

The decision was taken at the BJP Central Election Committee which finalised candidates for byelections in MP, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa.

The party has not taken a final decision on fielding its nominee for Chimur byelection where its local unit is at loggerheads with the Shiv Sena.

The party has finally put at rest speculations about fielding Varun Gandhi from Vidisha as the local unit is strongly backing a local candidate in the seat where RSS has a strong following. The BJP has decided to field Mr Singh, an MLA belonging to powerful Rajput community, to take on former Chief Minister Uma Bharti, from where the party believes she will contest. Mr Singh represents Udaypura Assembly segment in Raisen district, which is also part of Vidisha constituency.

In Bada Malhera seat, the party has chosen Kapurchand Guwara, a new entrant to the party from the Jain community. He is a former MLA who has represented Communist Party and Congress and in the 2003 elections, he contested as an Independent securing 20,000 votes against Ms Bharti, who was then the BJP's Chief Ministerial nominee.

In Koderma Lok Sabha constituency in Jharkhand, where former BJP Vice President Babulal Marandi is trying out his luck as a candidate of his own political outfit, the party has fielded Mr Pranav Kumar Verma.

For the Thelsera Assembly constituency in Orissa, the party has chosen Mr Sahdev Khaka.

UNI MCN/KAS PA DS1503

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