Lok Sabha polls 2024: BJP drops Sunny Deol, fields ex-bureaucrat Taranjit Sandhu from Punjab's Gurdaspur seat

Notably, the BJP nominated former diplomat Taranjit Sandhu for the Amritsar constituency and dropped veteran actor and incumbent MP Sunny Deol from Gurdaspur.

A 1988 batch Indian Foreign Service officer, Sandhu served as India's ambassador to the United States from early February 2020 till 31 January 2024.

The fresh list includes six candidates for the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab.

Interestingly, the party relocated incumbent BJP MP Hans Raj Hans from Delhi's North-West constituency to Punjab, where he will now vie for the Faridkot Parliamentary seat.

Former Congress stalwarts Preneet Kaur, wife of former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, and Ravneet Singh Bittu are prominent names in the BJP's candidate lineup.

Kaur is slated to contest from her traditional stronghold of Patiala, while Bittu will represent Ludhiana.

Preneet Kaur recently joined the BJP in the presence of top party leaders from the state.

Bittu, a three-time MP and grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, draws further interest to the BJP's candidate pool.

In a notable move, former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sushil Kumar Rinku, who recently switched allegiance to the BJP, will contest from Jalandhar.

Rinku, along with AAP MLA Sheetal Angural, formally joined the BJP on March 28.

The BJP's eighth list also includes three Lok Sabha candidates from Odisha and two from West Bengal.