BJP Replaces Kirron Kher With Sanjay Tandon In Chandigarh Lok Sabha Seat

The BJP today announced Sanjay Tandon as its candidate for the lone Lok Sabha seat of Chandigarh, replacing two-time MP Kirron Kher.

Mr Tandon, 60, is the party's co-incharge for Himachal Pradesh and is the son of former Chhattisgarh Governor Balramji Das Tandon - one of the founding members of the Jana Sangh and later the BJP's Punjab chief.

He thanked the party leadership for the ticket from Chandigarh, which will go to polls in the last phase of the elections on June 1, and discounted the electoral challenge posed by the INDIA bloc, saying, "Politics works on chemistry, not on mathematics."

Actor Kirron Kher, who was elected as MP from Chandigarh in 2014 and again from the constituency in 2019, congratulated Mr Tandon on his nomination.

"Congratulations Sanjay Tandon ji on being selected as the BJP candidate for the Chandigarh constituency. Wishing you all the best in your campaign ahead," she posted on X sharing a photo with him.

Mr Tandon, who was earlier the Chandigarh BJP chief for nearly a decade, said he has always been committed to the welfare of the Union Territory.

"I have been connected with the people of Chandigarh for the last 40 years in one way or the other. I assure them I will not leave any stone unturned to serve them like family," he said.

"It is a moment of great happiness for me. I thank my party's leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah," he told reporters outside his home where his supporters gathered to congratulate him.

His family was seen celebrating and offering sweets to everyone who visited his home.

The BJP, in its 10th list, announced the candidates for nine Lok Sabha seats - seven in Uttar Pradesh and one each in Chandigarh and Bengal.

Replying to a question, Mr Tandon said, if elected, he would work to make Chandigarh "number one in the entire country".

On the challenge posed by the INDIA bloc, he quipped, "In politics, two plus two is not always four. It is either five, two, or minus even. It is a matter of combination. Politics works on chemistry, not mathematics".

Under a seat-sharing deal between Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress, both constituents of the INDIA bloc, the Congress will field its candidate from Chandigarh.

The BJP and the AAP-Congress alliance were locked in an acrimonious contest this year for the posts of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation.

Asked if he has been rewarded for his patience by the party, Tandon said, "In politics, if you cannot keep patience, then you should not enter this field... I always worked like a worker for my party".

Notably, the names of Satyapal Jain and Arun Sood were also doing the rounds for the party ticket from Chandigarh.

Tandon said he was born in Amritsar and also worked for the party in Punjab.

"Punjab, Punjabiyat and Punjabi brotherhood is not new for me," he said.

About his late father, Tandon said, "He taught me that in politics keep working without aspiring for any post".

A chartered accountant by profession, Tandon is also the president of the UT Cricket Association Chandigarh.

Tandon did his early schooling in Amritsar. Later, the family moved to Chandigarh. He became a chartered accountant in 1986. He also carries out various social service activities through NGOs Competent Foundation and Balramji Das Tandon Charitable Foundation. PTI SUN VSD RT RT

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