Amritsar: The BJP unveiled its second list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Punjab on Tuesday. Among the notable changes, Union Minister Som Parkash has been replaced by his wife as the party's candidate for the Hoshiarpur Lok Sabha seat. Anita Som Parkash will now represent the party in the Hoshiarpur reserve parliamentary constituency, expressing gratitude to the party leadership for the opportunity.

Hoshiarpur, previously won by the BJP in both the 2014 and 2019 polls, sees Anita Som Parkash taking over from her husband. The constituency was one of the three seats contested by the BJP in alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal previously, but the BJP is now contesting independently. Anita will be facing AAP nominee Raj Kumar Chabbewal in the upcoming elections, with the Congress and SAD yet to announce their candidates for Hoshiarpur.

Additionally, former IAS officer Parampal Kaur Sidhu has been nominated by the BJP for the Bathinda parliamentary seat, currently held by SAD MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal. Sidhu, daughter-in-law of senior Akali leader Sinkander Singh Maluka, recently joined the BJP along with her husband Gurpreet Singh Maluka. She resigned from her position as a 2011-batch IAS officer before joining the party. Sidhu's opponents include Congress candidate Jeet Mohinder Sidhu and AAP's Gurmeet Singh Khudian, with the SAD yet to name its candidate for Bathinda.

Moreover, former MLA from Baba Bakala seat Manjit Singh Manna Mianwind has been nominated by the BJP for the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat, currently held by Congress MP Jasbir Singh. Laljit Singh Bhullar is the AAP candidate for this seat.

With these latest announcements, the BJP has finalized candidates for nine out of the total 13 seats in Punjab. The party had previously announced candidates for Ludhiana, Amritsar, Faridkot, Patiala, Gurdaspur, and Jalandhar. Polling for all 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab is scheduled for the final phase on June 1.

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