New Delhi:
Late Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pramod Mahajan's daughter Poonam figures in the first list of 66 party candidates for coming assembly elections in Maharashtra announced on Saturday.
Poonam Mahajan will contest from Ghatkopar West assembly seat in Mumbai.
The party said while 23 sitting MLAs have been re-nominated, nine sitting legislators were denied ticket due to delimitation and "other reasons". One sitting MLC also figures in the candidates' list.
The first list consists of names of two women, six Schedule Caste and nine Schedule Tribe candidates. While BJP state unit president Nitin Ghadkari is not contesting the elections, the party has fielded its former state president Sambhajirao Pawar from Sangli assembly seat.
Jalil Ansari, 34, is the only Muslim candidate in the list and he has been fielded from Malegaon (Central). Malegaon was in the news after a series of blasts had rocked the city in September 2006, killing 37 people.
Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, Lt Col Srikant Purohit and some activists of right wing group Abhinav Bharat have been accused of involvement in the blasts.
Asked why BJP is fielding Ansari, party general secretary Gopinath Munde said he is an old party worker from the area and it was appropriate to give him a ticket.