BJP springs surprise, denies tickets to 6 sitting MPs in Uttar Pradesh
Lucknow: The BJP has sprung a surprise by denying tickets to six sitting MPs from Uttar Pradesh, including Union minister Krishna Raj and National Commission for Scheduled Castes chairman Ram Shankar Katheria.
In its first list of 184 candidates announced Thursday for the Lok Sabha elections in the electorally crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, the BJP fielded Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh from Lucknow.
The party renominated Smriti Irani from Amethi to take on Congress president Rahul Gandhi.
Significantly, the candidature of former Union Minister Murli Manohar Joshi, an MP from Kanpur, Union Minister Maneka Gandhi who represents Pilibhit, and her son Varun Gandhi representing Sultanpur was not announced in Uttar Pradesh where the BJP faces a formidable alliance of the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party.
In the first list, besides Krishna Raj (Shahjahanpur-SC) and Ram Shankar Katheria (Agra-SC), others who have been refused party nominations are: Anshul Verma (Hardoi-SC), Babulal Chaudhary (Fatehpur Sikri), Anju Bala (Misrikh-SC) and Satya Pal Singh (Sambhal).
Krishna Raj is the Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.
The new candidates fielded from these constituencies by the BJP are: SP Singh Baghel (Agra), Parameshwar Lal Saini (Sambhal), Raj Kumar Chaher (Fatehpur Sikri), Jai Prakash Rawat (Hardoi-SC), Ashok Rawat (Misrikh-SC) and Arun Sagar (Shahjahanpur-SC).
After the announcement of tickets, Irani in a series of tweets said, "Congratulations to all the candidates announced by @BJP4India. Let us all work for #PhirEkBaarModiSarkar by ensuring lotus blooms in every constituency."
She also thanked Prime Minister Modi, BJP chief Amit Shah and senior party leaders for giving her the responsibility to contest Lok Sabha elections from Amethi.
"It would be matter of pride for me to enable the lotus bloom in Amethi and strengthen the BJP in the Parliament (Amethi se kamal khilaakar Sansad mein BJP ko majboot karnaa mere liye garv ki baat hogi)," she said.
Irani in another tweet said, "Had the honour of representing Amethi, got love of party workers of Amethi. Now we have to make the lotus bloom and create history."
In the 2014 general elections in Amethi, Rahul Gandhi (4,08,651) defeated Irani (3,00,748) by 1,07,903 votes.
Other prominent candidates fielded by the BJP are Union minister of state (Independent Charge) Labour and Employment Santosh Kumar Gangwar (from Bareilly) and Hema Malini from Mathura.
"Some people were wanting that I should come back (and contest the Lok Sabha polls), and they used to tell me that I have to come back. If you will come, it will be good. This time, I have come back, and would like to thank Amit Shah ji Modi ji and all those present in the meeting for giving me the ticket, as they have re-nominated me," Hema Malini said.
In the last elections in Varanasi, Modi (5,81,022 votes) defeated AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal (2,09,238) by 3,71,784 votes. In Lucknow, Rajnath Singh (5,61,106) defeated Rita Bahuguna Joshi (2,88,357) of the Congress by 2,72,749 votes.
In the first list of the BJP in UP, the candidates who have got the ticket are: Raghav Lakhanpal (Saharanpur), Sanjeev Kumar Baliyan (Muzaffarnagar), Kunwar Bhartendra Singh (Bijnor), Rajendra Agrawal (Meerut), Satya Pal Singh (Baghpat), Vijay Kumar Singh (Ghaziabad) and Mahesh Sharma (Gautam Buddh Nagar).
Of them, VK Singh is Minister of State for External Affairs, Mahesh Sharma is the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Culture, while Satya Pal Singh is the Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development.
The current Lok Sabha MP from Bijnor is Kunwar Bharatendra Singh.
The BJP also decided to give ticket to its sitting MP Sakshi Maharaj from Unnao. Recently, in a veiled threat to the BJP leadership, Unnao MP Maharaj warned that if he is not renominated from the seat, "the result may not be good" for the party this time.
The 63-year-old saffron-clad lawmaker said he had written a letter to state BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey in this regard on March 7.
"The result may not be good (for the BJP) if the party takes any decision (other than fielding me from Unnao)," the four-time Lok Sabha member said.
The parliamentary constituencies in the state, which will vote on April 11 in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections are Baghpat, Bijnor, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Kairana, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar and Saharanpur.
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Pope Leo XIV rejects claims that God justifies war in Palm Sunday Mass message
Leaders on all sides of the Iran war have used religion to justify their actions; US officials, especially Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, have invoked their Christian faith to cast the war as a Christian nation trying to vanquish its foes with military might Pope Leo XIV on Sunday rejected claims that God justifies war and prayed especially for Christians in the Middle East during a Palm Sunday Mass before tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square.
With the US-Israeli war on Iran entering its second month and Russia's ongoing campaign in Ukraine, Leo dedicated his Palm Sunday homily to insisting that God is the "king of peace" who rejects violence and comforts those who are oppressed.
"Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war," Leo said. "He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them."
Leaders on all sides of the Iran war have used religion to justify their actions. US officials, especially Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, have invoked their Christian faith to cast the war as a Christian nation trying to vanquish its foes with military might.
Russia's Orthodox Church, too, has justified Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a "holy war" against a Western world it considers has fallen into evil.
Palm Sunday marks Jesus' triumphant entrance into Jerusalem in the time leading up to his crucifixion, which Christians observe on Good Friday, and resurrection on Easter Sunday.
In a special blessing at the end of Mass, Leo said he was praying especially for Christians in the Middle East who are "suffering the consequences of an atrocious conflict. In many cases, they cannot live the rites of these holy days."
Earlier Sunday, the Latin Patriarchate said Jerusalem police prevented the Catholic church's top leadership from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. It was the first time in centuries that church leaders were prevented from celebrating Palm Sunday at the place where Christians believe Jesus was crucified, the Patriarchate said.
Leo said that during Holy Week, Christians cannot forget how many people around the world are suffering as Christ did. "Their trials appeal to the conscience of all. Let us raise our prayers to the Prince of Peace so that he may support people wounded by war and open concrete paths of reconciliation and peace," Leo said.
A Holy Week that recalls Pope Francis' suffering
When Holy Week opened last year, Pope Francis was still recovering at the Vatican after a five-week hospital stay for double pneumonia. He had delegated the liturgical celebrations to others, but rallied on Easter Sunday to greet the faithful from the loggia of St. Peter's Square. Most poignantly, he then made what became his final popemobile loop around the piazza.
Francis died the following morning, Easter Monday, after suffering a stroke. His nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti, later told Vatican Media that Francis had told him: "Thank you for bringing me back to the square" for the final salute.
Leo is due to preside over this week's liturgical appointments and is returning to tradition with the Holy Thursday foot-washing ceremony that commemorates Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples.
During his 12-year pontificate, Francis famously celebrated the Holy Thursday ritual by travelling to Rome-area prisons and refugee centres to wash the feet of people on society's margins. His aim was to drive home the ritual's message of service and humility, and he would frequently muse during his Holy Thursday homilies, "Why them and not me?"
Francis' gesture had been praised as a tangible evidence of his belief that the church must go to the peripheries to find those most in need of God's love and mercy. But some critics bristled at the annual outings, especially since Francis would also wash the feet of Muslims and people of other faiths.
Leo restores Holy Week foot-washing tradition
Leo, history's first US-born pope, is returning the Holy Thursday foot-washing tradition to the basilica of St. John Lateran, where popes performed it for decades. The Vatican hasn't yet said who will participate, though Popes Benedict XVI and John Paul II normally washed the feet of 12 priests.
On Friday, Leo is due to preside over the Good Friday procession at Rome's Colosseum commemorating Christ's Passion and crucifixion. Saturday brings the late-night Easter Vigil, during which Leo will baptise new Catholics, followed a few hours later by Easter Sunday, when Christians commemorate the resurrection of Jesus.
Leo will celebrate Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square and then deliver his Easter blessing from the loggia of the basilica.
