Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar will contest the forthcoming assembly elections in the state from Karnal with the BJP's first list of candidates declared on Monday also having names of three prominent sportspersons - wrestlers Yogeshwar Dutt and Babita Phogat and former Indian hockey captain Sandeep Singh.
The party has fielded two candidates from the Muslim community in the Mewat region and the first list of 78 candidates also has nine women.
State BJP chief Subhash Barala will fight from Tohana. Olympian Yogeshwar Dutt has been fielded from Baroda (Sonipat), Sandeep Singh from Pehowa and Babita Phogat from Dadri. State Minister l Vij will again contest from Ambala Cantonment.
The BJP has denied party ticket to two ministers -- Vipul Goel (Faridabad) and Rao Narbir Singh (Badshahpur) and five other MLAs. Thirty-eight sitting MLAs have been given the ticket once again.
Latika Sharma has been named to contest from Kalka seat, whereas Ambala City seat will be contested by Aseem Goel. Gyan Chanda Gupta will be fighting to represent Panchkula seat in the Assembly.
The party candidates include Latika Sharma (Kalka), Aseem Goel (Ambala City), Gyan Chand Gupta (Panchkula), Rajveer Barada (Mulana), Balwant Singh (Sadhaura), Kanwarpal Gujjar (Jagadhari), Ghanshyam Das Arora (Yamuna Nagar), Kandev Kamboj (Radaur), Pawan Saini (Ladwa), Krishna Bedi (Shahbad), Shubash Suda (Thanesar), Leelaram Gujjar (Kaithal), Bedpal (Pundi), and Ramkumar Kashyap (Indri).
The names were approved by BJP's Central Election Committee at a meeting here on Sunday.
( With inputs from ANI )