New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will fight to retain his Varanasi seat while BJP President Amit Shah will contest his first Lok Sabha polls from Gandhinagar in the 2019 polls, BJP leader J.P Nadda announced on Thursday.
Among the prominent leaders announced in BJP's first list, which had 182 names, were Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, who will contest again from Lucknow, Nitin Gadkari from Nagpur, Gen. V. K. Singh (retd) from Ghaziabad, Satyapal Singh (Baghpat), Sakshi Maharaj (Unnao) and Kiren Rijiju (Arunanchal East). All are sitting MPs.
Union Minister Smriti Irani will again face Congress President Rahul Gandhi in Amethi.
Film actress-turned politician Hema Malini will again contest from her Mathura seat.