New Delhi:
After marathon overnight meetings in Delhi, the BJP is expected to release the first list of candidates for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections today – around 100 names, which will include stalwarts like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. The visit by the Prime Minister at his Delhi residence began at 11 pm on Thursday night and ended at 3.15 am on Friday.
Sources told NDTV that the BJP’s strategy, as it bids for a third term, revolves around seeking feedback from sitting MPs – including discussions with grassroots workers and voters in their constituencies. But it’s not limited to just that – and also includes a tactical reshuffle to eliminate opponents. -Bias in power.
Sources also said last night that the party intends to declare a large portion of its candidates much before the announcement of election dates to increase pressure on its main (only) rival – the Congress-led India Bloc, which includes national Democratic alliance partners will not be included. Which has still not completed the seat-share deals.
Hindi Heartland, South Focus
NDTV was told that the Thursday night-Friday morning meeting will focus on candidates from the Hindi-speaking states of UP, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, as well as Mr Modi’s home state Gujarat. Also in focus were the southern states of Kerala – where the BJP has traditionally been a nonentity – and Telangana, where the Congress defeated it last year.
Read | PM leads midnight meeting of BJP to decide on Lok Sabha candidates
The decision for other states including Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Tamil Nadu has been put on hold pending coalition talks with regional parties. In the latter two states, the BJP is hoping to re-establish ties with the Akali Dal and AIADMK, while in the former it will have to choose between the ruling YSR Congress Party and the Telugu Desam Party-Jana Sena alliance.
PM Modi, Amit Shah in the first list?
In any case, the list is not due before noon, but Mr Modi is likely to come back to save his seat in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi, which has been a BJP stronghold since 1991 (except for Congress’s victory in 2004). .
He claimed major victories here in 2014 and 2019, winning the first election by 3.7 lakh votes and the second by nearly 4.8 lakh votes. There was speculation that the Prime Minister’s hat-trick bid could be challenged by the Indian faction, with Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra a possible candidate.
The other possible candidate was Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, but that was ruled out as the Janata Dal (United) chief – India’s founding member – has now re-aligned with the BJP.
Read | Public reaction, take: How BJP is choosing candidates for Lok Sabha elections
Ms Gandhi Vadra’s (long-awaited) electoral debut – there was talk that she would also contest the 2019 elections – is yet to be confirmed, and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s withdrawal from the party bastion Rae Bareli is a possible full unveiling. It’s done op for the party.
Meanwhile, Amit Shah may be fielded from Gandhinagar in Gujarat.
The BJP – which has held the seat since 1989 – has sent stalwarts like Lal Krishna Advani and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to the Lok Sabha. Mr Shah won the seat in 2019 – registering a major victory by defeating Congress’s Chaturveh Chavda. More than 5.5 lakh votes.
Other big names?
Amit Shah’s cabinet colleagues – Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia – are likely to contest from Lucknow and Guna-Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh respectively.
Like Gandhinagar, the capital of UP is also a stronghold of BJP.
Mr Vajpayee held this seat from 1991 to 2004 and Rajnath Singh is holding this seat since 2014 after defeating Rita Bahugan Joshi of Congress and Poonam Sinha of Samajwadi Party.
Mr Scindia’s expected seat in Madhya Pradesh is being considered certain as it is his family stronghold. The Scindia royal family has won this seat 14 times since the first elections in 1952.
Jyotiraditya Scindia held the seat between 2002 (a by-election necessitated by the death of his father Madhavrao Scindia) and 2014, but as a member of the Congress. Following his controversial cross-over, he vacated the seat and was instead nominated for a Rajya Sabha seat from the state.
In 2019, this seat was won by BJP’s Krishnapal Yadav.
Others whose names may figure in the first list include former Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal from Dibrugarh in Assam, a seat he won in 2004 (when he was with the Assam Gana Parishad).
Read | BJP will contest 11 Lok Sabha seats in Assam, 3 for allies
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said the BJP will contest 11 seats across Assam and leave three seats for its allies – Assam Gana Parishad and United People’s Party Liberal.
Not Pragya Thakur, return of Shivraj Chauhan?
There are also likely to be some surprises, with buzz being that flamboyant Bhopal MP Pragya Thakur will not come back to save her seat, which was offered to former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Mr Chouhan – who was sacked after the BJP’s assembly election victory last year, despite his welfare measures, particularly the ‘Laadli Behna’ scheme, which ensured the party retained the state – is reportedly from the seat. He refused, and said that he wanted to contest from his home district Vidisha.
The former chief minister was a five-time winner from the seat – from 1991 to 2004 – which has also been a BJP stronghold; The saffron party has been in control of Vidisha since 1989.
room for colleagues
The meeting also discussed possibly leaving six seats in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh, which sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha, to regional allies like Apna Dal and Jayant Chaudhary’s Rashtriya Lok Dal, despite which the BJP reportedly Had won from India. Their January agreement.
Overall, the plan is to declare the names of at least 50 percent of the candidates by March 10. The party did the same thing in 2019; The 164 candidates were revealed on 21 March, a few weeks before the dates were announced.
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