Among the prominent most-faces to battle it out in the electoral field in this Lok Sabha elections, are 22 former chief ministers of the country, fielded by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, their allies, and other parties.

These star 22 candidates include current prime minister Narendra Modi, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Digvijay Singh, Omar Abdullah, Ghulam Nabi Azad, HD Kumaraswamy, Charanjit Singh Channi, Jitan Ram Manjhi, Bhupesh Baghel, Manohar Lal Khattar, and Biplab Kumar.

11 of these former state heads are from the BJP and five are from the Congress.

Narendra Modi, who served as the chief minister of Gujarat for four consecutive terms from 2001 to 2014, is currently contesting the elections for the third consecutive time from the Varanasi seat.

Rajnath Singh, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh from 2000 to 2002, has been fielded by the party from the Lucknow constituency for the third time as well.

Another long-serving former chief minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan of Madhya Pradesh, is contesting from the Vidisha parliamentary seat. Former Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar is contesting the general elections for the first time from Karnal constituency.

Arjun Munda is contesting elections from Jharkhand’s Khunti seat. He served as the CM of Jharkhand from 2003 to 2006 and again from 2010 to 2013.

Similarly, Jagadish Shettar, former chief minister of Karnataka, is contesting from the Belgaum constituency.

Alongside, Trivendra Singh Rawat has been given the ticket from Uttarakhand’s Haridwar by the BJP. While former CM, HD Kumaraswamy, is contesting from Karnataka’s Mandya. It is noteworthy that there is an alliance between BJP and JD(S) in the state.

Andhra Pradesh’s Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy is contesting from Rajampet, and Sarbananda Sonowal is contesting from Assam’s Dibrugarh constituency.

Biplab Kumar Deb is contesting on a BJP ticket from Tripura West constituency, and O Panneerselvam is to fight the elections independently with support from the BJP from Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu.

Former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi is contesting from the Gaya parliamentary seat. It is noteworthy that Manjhi’s party Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) has an alliance with the BJP.

From the Congress camp, Digvijay Singh (former MP CM) is contesting from the Rajgarh seat, former Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi from Jalandhar, and former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel is contesting from Rajnandgaon.

Moreover, Omar Abdullah, the former CM of Jammu and Kashmir, is contesting from Baramulla, Mehbooba Mufti from Anantnag, and Ghulam Nabi Azad, another former J&K CM, is contesting from Anantnag.

Former Puducherry CM V Vaithilingam is also contesting the elections from the seat.

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