WITH THE BJP planning to field ministers who have completed two Rajya Sabha terms in the coming Lok Sabha elections, the name of Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya is being proposed for either Surat or Bhavnagar seat in Gujarat.
The minister hails from the Bhavnagar district but shares a Saurashtrian connection with Surat. Five of the seven Assembly constituencies that make up the Surat Lok Sabha seat have a high Saurashtrian population.
Mandaviya’s name was suggested for the two seats after several rounds of meetings of senior party leaders and cluster leaders. The BJP has created seven clusters of the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat and the leaders are tasked with finding candidates who are likely to win with a margin of 5 lakh votes in each seat.
Live Darshan
Watching the Ram Mandir consecration live from his official residence in Delhi, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri was joined by family, friends and colleagues.
India’s G20 Sherpa and former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, Petroleum Secretary Pankaj Jain, Indian Oil Chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, NBCC India CMD KP Mahadeva Swamy and Delhi BJP leader Neelkant Bakshi were among those present at the minister’s bungalow.
Later in a tweet, Puri said watching the ceremony was a “once in a lifetime moment” made possible by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
Devotional Connect
Union Minister for Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh celebrated the Pran Pratishtha at Delhi’s Nehru Place. He participated in a havan organised at the venue and performed an aarti in front of a TV screen showing the ceremony live from Ayodhya. The minister donned a white kurta with a saffron turban and a matching stole.