BJP conducts hectic meetings ahead of nominations for first phase of Lok Sabha elections

New Delhi: A day before the nominations for the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections, BJP conducted hectic meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and party president J P Nadda getting into a huddle at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg.

At the party headquarters, meetings of the core committees of several states took place for the second day in a row, with sources saying that significant changes could be expected in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan – two states where the party had won big in 2019.

The party leadership got into a huddle late Tuesday night to sign off on names of candidates for the upcoming lists before the Prime Minister takes off for his Bhutan tour on March 21.

Sources said that matters regarding alliance were also discussed, with the BJP looking at stitching some more coalitions. The Shiromani Akali Dal and the Biju Janata Dal are two parties that the BJP is exploring alliances with.

Additionally, some of the names of candidates cleared in previous meetings of the CEC which have not been announced yet were also taken up.

In Uttar Pradesh, as the BJP has kept suspense over names of candidates for some of the key seats, internal issues seem to be behind the delay in announcing the names. Sources in the know said that in the seat that Brij Bhushan had won last term – Kaiserganj – the BJP could sidestep the issue of the case against him of sexual harassment by fielding someone from his family.

On the issue of fielding the Gandhis on this side of the fence – former Union minister Maneka and her son Varun – speculations are that neither would be fielded. However, sources said that the party will field one of the two. There is a likelihood that spokesperson Prem Shukla could be fielded from the Sultanpur seat from where Maneka is the sitting MP, and the contenders of the Pilibhit seat are state minister Jitin Prasada and Bareilly MP and Union minister Santosh Gangwar. Also, the BJP is yet to name candidates in the Rae Bareli seat.

Core committee meetings of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Haryana, Sikkim, Maharashtra and Gujarat took place on Monday. On Tuesday, meetings for Karnataka and Odisha were held.

On Monday, leaders of the party’s West Bengal unit met to discuss possible candidates, since the BJP has only named candidates in 19 seats, with one candidate withdrawing (singer Pawan Singh from Asansol). In the remaining 23 seats, several factions of the party have been trying to put forward their lists.

Leaders of the party’s Odisha unit, sources said, were unhappy with the prospect of an alliance with the Biju Janata Dal. The party is yet to announce any candidate in the state.