Swarn Singh Salariya has substantial presence in Gurdaspur and was an aspirant for the seat in 2014.
The BJP which had been mulling the decision over its candidate from the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat for Punjab bypolls has decided to field businessman Swarn Singh Salariya from the party stronghold. The seat had been lying vacant since the demise of actor-turned politician Vinod Khanna in April this year.
The BJP was in a fix between choosing Mr Salaria and Kavita Khanna, the wife of the late movie actor, for the seat. After deliberating over the candidate's name for days, the party's central election committee announced Mr Salaria's name on Thursday.
"Swarn Singh Salariya will be the BJP candidate for the Gurdaspur parliamentary constituency bypoll," said Punjab BJP secretary Vineet Joshi.
A native of Chauhana village in Gurdaspur, Mr Salariya has substantial presence in the constituency. Though Mr Salaria was an aspirant for the same seat in 2014, the party had fielded Mr Khanna, a four time BJP MP.
Mr Salaria will be in direct fight with Congress' state president Sunil Jakhar, whose name was announced as the party's chosen candidate for the seat on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party or AAP had named Major General (Retd) Suresh Khajuria as its candidate.
Polling for the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat in Punjab will take place on October 11.