NEW DELHI: The BJP’s Central Election Committee (CEC) on Thursday finalized over 170 candidates for the first three phases of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, with names including those of biggies like Yogi Adityanath likely to be unveiled in the next few days.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the meeting in a hybrid mode due to the prevailing Covid pandemic, with BJP chief J P Nadda, who is down with infection, linking up through video conference.
Ahead of the CEC meeting, Union Home Minister Amit Shah held extensive deliberations with the core group of the UP unit, including Yogi, to examine the list of nominees shortlisted a few days ago.
Shah is also learnt to have held discussions with the leaders of Apna Dal and Nishad Party to give a final shape to the seat adjustments, with both the allies likely to get 13-14 seats each, and a few of their nominees to be accommodated on the BJP symbol, sources said.
The meeting presided over by Shah in the run up to the CEC meeting lasted several hours late in the previous night as the top brass examined the prospects of the nominees shortlisted by the state unit along with their ground assessment reports. The BJP CEC meeting was also attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh through virtual mode.
With Ram temple being the major pivot of the electioneering, the BJP is likely to announce the nomination of Yogi from Ayodhya. The CM has seemingly been working on his political profile with the construction of the Ram temple and the redevelopment works in the city. Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Mourya said that the CEC has given a final shape to candidates for 172 candidates. The EC is slated to issue the notification for the first phase of the elections on Friday , which will also commence the nomination process.