New Delhi, April 27: The BJP on Saturday dropped incumbent Lok Sabha MP Poonam Mahajan as its candidate from the Mumbai North Central seat and named lawyer Ujjwal Deorao Nikam in her place. Nikam is a well-known name in the legal circle and was a government counsel in the the Mumbai terror attack case. Mahajan, the daughter of late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan, was elected from the constituency in 2014 and 2019. Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha Election 2024: BJP Fields 26/11 Terror Attack Govt Counsel Ujjwal Nikam Against Varsha Gaikwad

She is also a former president of the BJP's youth wing. Party leaders have claimed that the decision to drop her was based on organisational feedback. Though indications had been there for some time that Mahajan would be dropped, it was the party's search for her replacement that took time, sources said. Lok Sabha Elections 2024: 'PM Narendra Modi, Amit Shah Sellers and Ambani, Adani Buyers', Says Mallikarjun Kharge (Watch Video)

The Congress has fielded its city unit chief and Dharavi MLA Varsha Gaikwad from Mumbai North Central. Voting in Mumbai is scheduled to be held on May 20 in the fifth phase of the polls. The BJP also named eight more candidates for the Odisha assembly polls, which will be held alongside the general elections.

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