"Jaunpur will be included in PM Modi's 400-paar": Kripashankar Singh after BJP names him as Lok Sabha candidate

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 3 (ANI): After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced his candidature from the Jaunpur constituency, Uttar Pradesh, in the upcoming Lok Sabha election, Kripashankar Singh expressed confidence in winning the seat.
"It is my belief that Jaunpur will be included in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 400-paar slogan" Singh said, referring to PM Modi's clarion call to the BJP cadre to work for the NDA and get 400+ seats in the Lok Sabha elections.
Taking a swipe at Congress, he said that while leadership is with the BJP, "dealership" is with Congress.
"When I was in Congress, I used to try to carry the goal of the Congress party. Congress used to lead for a time. Today, the BJP is leading. Leadership is with BJP, dealership is with them (Congress)," Singh said.
Singh's candidature was announced on Saturday in the BJP's first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections.
He is the former Minister of State for Home in the erstwhile Congress-NCP government in Maharashtra and the former Mumbai Regional Congress president.
Singh left the Congress party in 2019 and formally joined the BJP in 2021.
BJP's first list contains 195 candidates, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will contest Varanasi again.
Of the 195 candidates, 34 are ministers from the Centre and States, while two are former chief ministers who are on the list.
While announcing the first list, BJP National General Secretary Vinod Tawde said, "PM Modi to contest Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi, Union Minister for Law and Justice Kiran Rijiju to contest from Arunachal West, BJP MP Bishnu Pada Ray to contest from Andaman & Nicobar, BJP MP Tapir Gao to contest from Arunachal East, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to contest from Dibrugarh.
"Home Minister Amit Shah will contest from Gandhinagar while Mansukh Mandaviya will contest from Porbandar."The names of 195 candidates have been finalised. The list includes 47 youth candidates, 28 women candidates, 27 Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates, 18 Scheduled Tribes (ST) candidates and 57 OBC/Backward Class candidates. The party has announced the list keeping all communities in focus," said BJP leader Vinod Tawde while addressing the media here in Delhi.
Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar will contest from Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram. Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will contest from Dibrugarh, Kiren Rijiju from Arunachal Pradesh.
Former External Affairs minister, late Sushma Swaraj's daughter Bansuri Swaraj has been fielded from New Delhi.Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to contest from Lucknow, Smriti Irani will again contest from Amethi.
Ajay Mishra Teni,MOS Home will again contest from Khiri.BJP leader Alok Sharma to contest from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh while former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to contest from Vidisha. (ANI)