BJP springs surprise, denies tickets to 6 sitting MPs in UP
(WorldNews Politics)

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...