MP BJP candidate list by month-end

Bhopal, DHNS: The BJP is likely to declare its candidates for all 230 seats in Madhya Pradesh on October 31, while the Congress is expected to release its lists in phases from the first week of the next month. Polling is slated for November 28.

According to BJP sources, the party will finalise candidates in a meeting on October 29.

On October 30, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and state president Rakesh Singh will fly together to New Delhi for ratification of the list in the central election committee, which is scheduled to sit on the same day.

Speculation is rife that, taking the RSS' advice, the BJP is going to deny re-election to 80 of its 165 MLAs, including a dozen ministers.

The Congress will release its first list of 110 candidates after party president Rahul Gandhi's two-day Madhya Pradesh tour starting October 29. It includes 46 out of 58 sitting MLAs.

The Congress has finalised names for 110 seats. For the remaining 120 seats, the party is trying hard to arrive at a consensus.

The Congress screening committee has been deliberating on the panels for 120 seats for the last three days in New Delhi.

The committee unanimously agreed on fielding candidates who had lost in the 2013 election by less than 3,000 votes. The party has shortened names in the panels from five to two and three for the 120 seats.

BJP sources said that following the party guidelines, candidates known for muscle power and having criminal background will be disqualified for election.

Among sitting MLAs, only those with a clean and popular image will be fielded. The BJP has already conducted three surveys for assessing the winnability of its candidates.