The BJP on Saturday released its 15th list of candidates for the Lok Sabha Elections and fielded former special public prosecutor Ujjwal Deorao Nikam from the Mumbai North Central seat, dropping the sitting MP Poonam Mahajan. Nikam, in his long and illustrious legal career, was associated with many cases including 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts, the Gulshan Kumar murder case, Pramod Mahajan murder case and the 2008 Mumbai attack. He was also the special public prosecutor in the 2013 Mumbai gang rape case. Ujjwal Nikam was awarded the Padma Shri in 2016. Mahajan, the daughter of late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan, was elected from the constituency in 2014 and 2019. 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.

Nikam has represented the state in several important and high profile cases including the 1993 Mumbai blasts case, terror attack in Mumbai in 2008. He argued successfully for the state government and got death penalty or life imprisonment for the terrorists. The BJP has decided to bring him into the fray on a tough constituency in Mumbai.

Nikam has played a huge part in ensuring a death penalty for the Mumbai terror attack terrorist Ajmal Kasab and 1993 Mumbai serial blasts terrorist.

He also took part in the murder case of senior BJP leader Pramod Mahajan. After Ajmal Kasab was hanged, Ujjwal Nikam said it was a victory for India and by hanging Kasab, India paid homage to all the policemen and innocent people who lost their lives in the terror attack.

In 2014, Poonam secured victory from the Mumbai North Central seat, triumphing over incumbent MP Priya Dutt, daughter of the late actor and Congress leader Sunil Dutt. Poonam repeated this success in 2019 as well. The State, with its 48 Lok Sabha seats, is the second-largest contributor to the Lower House of Parliament after Uttar Pradesh.

Mumbai North-Central will go to poll on May 20 and the counting of votes will take place on June 4.  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.