20 of 33 BJP MPs repeated for 3rd time or more lost in UP, Irani & Teni included

NEW DELHI: Anti-incumbency impacted BJP’s prospects in 2024 Lok Sabha elections in UP, resulting in defeat of 27 of its 49 sitting MPs. In total, BJP had repeated 54 candidates who contested in 2019, but 31 of them failed to secure a win this time around.
Among the repeated candidates, 49 were sitting MPs, including Ambedkarnagar nominee Ritesh Pandey, who had switched from BSP to BJP.

Top Picks For You

Meet ‘giant killers’ who defeated Smriti Irani & others in Uttar Pradesh

Of these, 33 MPs were being repeated for the third time or more, but 20 of them lost their seats. The list included notable parliamentarians and Union ministers such as Smriti Irani (Amethi), Ajay Mishra Teni (Kheri), Kaushal Kishore (Mohanlalganj), Mahendra Nath Pandey (Chandauli), Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti (Fatehpur), Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma (Jalaun), and Sanjeev Balyan (Muzaffarnagar).

High-profile parliamentarians like eight-term MP Maneka Gandhi (Sultanpur) and Rajveer Singh (Etah), son of ex-CM Kalyan Singh, also faced defeat. Other significant losses included Lallu Singh (Faizabad) and Subrat Pathak (Kannauj).

“This clearly shows that people were unhappy with their work, yet BJP brass showed misplaced faith in them,” a political analyst said.
Data further revealed that only 14 BJP MPs contesting for the third or more time won, including PM Narendra Modi (Varanasi), Mahesh Sharma (GB Nagar), Bhola Singh (Bulandshahr), Rajnath Singh (Lucknow), and Hema Malini (Mathura). Despite the losses among incumbents, 10 of 21 other BJP candidates, including several first-timers, emerged victorious. Prominent first-time winners included Jitin Prasada (Pilibhit), Chhatrapal Singh Gangwar (Bareilly), Atul Garg (Ghaziabad), Anand Gond (Bahraich), and Karan Bhushan Singh (Kaiserganj).

According to political observers, BJP’s decision to repeat 46 of 51 candidates in the first list surprised many, given the local resentment against several of them. “The belief that Modi-Yogi factor will carry them through proved to be misguided,” an observer said.
Likewise, 19 candidates, including 16 sitting MPs, contested their second consecutive LS polls. Ten of these, including seven sitting MPs, lost their seats. Notable