Lok Sabha Elections 2024: 5 Facts About Nishikant Dubey, BJP's Candidate From Jharkhand's Godda

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has retained Nishikant Dubey as its candidate from Jharkhand's Godda Lok Sabha constituency. Mr Dubey, a three-time MP, was part of the BJP's first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha 2024 election. A firebrand leader, he came into the spotlight for his speeches defending the government in Parliament.

Here are 5 key things you must know about Nishikant Dubey:

• Born on January 28, 1969, Nishikant Dubey spent his early days in Bihar's Bhagalpur. He graduated from the Marwari College in Bhagalpur before completing his MBA and PhD in Management from Pratap University in Rajasthan's Jaipur. Mr Dubey was a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), during his student days.
• Nishikant Dubey was a director at the Essar Group. He bid adieu to the corporate world in 2009 and took a political plunge in the election year. He contested from the Godda seat on a BJP ticket and defeated Congress's Fukran Ansari in 2009.
• Riding on a BJP wave, Mr Dubey widened his victory margin in 2014. The BJP swept the Lok Sabha contest in Jharkhand, securing 12 out of 14 seats. Mr Dubey defeated Pradeep Yadav of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha, a party that merged with the BJP in 2020.
• Nishikant Dubey was in the headlines in 2023 when he led the call to investigate Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on allegations that she took bribes in exchange for criticising the government. A Parliamentary Ethics Committee found her guilty and Mahua Moitra was expelled from the Lok Sabha.
• In 2022, an FIR was filed against Mr Dubey and his BJP colleague Manoj Tiwari for allegedly forcing the Air Traffic Control officials at Deoghar Airport to give clearance for take-off during no-fly time. The FIR was ultimately quashed by the Jharkhand High Court in 2023.