New Delhi: The Lok Sabha, India’s Lower House of Parliament, welcomes 280 new members following the recent general elections. This includes notable figures such as Arun Govil, famed for his role as Lord Ram in the TV series Ramayan, Dalit rights advocate Chandrashekhar Azad ‘Ravan’, and former royal Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar.
The elections saw a diverse range of debutants in the 543-member Lok Sabha, including ex-chief ministers, Rajya Sabha members, businesspeople, and a former high court judge. Interestingly, first-time members make up 52 per cent of the total Lok Sabha members.
Uttar Pradesh, the state with the largest representation in the Lok Sabha with 80 members, has 45 newcomers. This includes BJP’s Arun Govil from Meerut, Congress’ Kishori Lal Sharma from Amethi who triumphed over BJP’s Smriti Irani, and Azad Samaj Party’s Chandrashekhar Azad ‘Ravan’ from Nagina.
In Maharashtra, where the BJP suffered losses, 33 new members have been elected. This includes school teacher Bhaskar Bhagre from NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar’s faction who secured the tribal seat of Dindori by defeating BJP’s Bharti Pawar.
Other debutants from Maharashtra include BJP’s Piyush Goyal from Mumbai North, Congress’ Balwant Wankhede from Amravati who defeated BJP’s Navneet Rana, BJP’s Anup Dhotre from Akola, and Independent candidate Vishal Patil from Sangli.
The list of 280 first-time Lok Sabha members also includes former chief ministers Narayan Rane (Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg), Trivendra Singh Rawat (Haridwar), Manohar Lal (Karnal), Biplab Kumar Deb (Tripura West), Jitan Ram Manjhi (Gaya), Basavraj Bommai (Haveri), Jagdish Shettar (Belgaum), and Charanjit Singh Channi (Jalandhar).
Actors making their Lok Sabha debut include Suresh Gopi (Thrissur), Kangana Ranaut (Mandi), June Maliah (Medinipur), Sayani Ghosh (Jadavpur), and Rachana Banerjee (Hooghly).
Several Rajya Sabha members have also transitioned to the Lok Sabha, including Anil Desai (Shiv Sena UBT), Misha Bharti (RJD), Bhupendra Yadav, Dharmendra Pradhan, Mansukh Mandaviya, and Parshottam Rupala (all BJP).
Members from former royal families have also been elected, including Chhatrapati Shahu (Kolhapur), Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar (Mysore), and Kriti Devi Debbarman (Tripura East).
Former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who won the Talmuk seat in West Bengal, is also a first-time MP.
Entrepreneur Uday Srinivas Tangella, also known as Tea Time Uday, has been elected to the Lok Sabha from Kakinada.
Young debutants include 25-year-old Shambhavi (LJP-RV-Samastipur), 26-year-old Sagar Khandre (Congress-Bidar), 27-year-old Priyanka Jarkhiholi (Congress-Chikkodi), 26-year-old Sanjana Jatav (Congress-Bharatpur), and 31-year-old Rajkumar Roat (Bharat Adivasi Party-Banswara).
Other new Lok Sabha members include Durai Vaiko (Tiruchirapalli), K N Arun Nehru (Perambalur), S Murasoli (Thanjavur), Eatala Rajinder (Malkajgiri), Ujjwal Raman Singh (Allahabad), and Yusuf Pathan (Bahrampur). with agency inputs