NEW DELHI : Amid speculation regarding the inclusion of certain Rajya Sabha MPs, who also hold Union cabinet positions, there might be a delay of one or two days in the release of the BJP’s second list of candidates, even after the Central Election Committee meeting scheduled for Sunday.
There is growing anticipation that the party may nominate some Union ministers, such as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, from various high-profile urban-dominated Lok Sabha seats. Their names are expected to be announced in the second list of candidates after approval from the CEC.
The party has scheduled the second CEC meeting on Sunday, with the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, JP Nadda, and other core committee members, including Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states, to deliberate and ultimately approve the second list of candidates for more than 150 Lok Sabha seats across various states, including Bihar, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh.
According to sources, the delay in releasing the second list could be attributed to the delay in finalising seat-sharing agreements with some regional constituent parties of the NDA in Bihar, Odisha, Maharashtra, and Punjab. Nevertheless, the central leadership of the BJP is continuously engaging in meetings with leaders of these regional parties to reach an understanding on seat-sharing.
It is expected that the second list of Lok Sabha candidates will include prominent leaders, including Union ministers like Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Ashwini Choubey, RK Singh and Nityanand Rai.
In an initial decision-making process on candidatures, meetings of BJP’s core groups of party leaders from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Telangana were held late on Saturday evening, with party national president JP Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah. Sources added that detailed discussions were held on the names of potential candidates for the Lok Sabha polls from each state until late night.
“Candidates with a non-controversial background and a strong likelihood of winning, would be shortlisted for the final panel to be presented at the CEC meeting on Sunday,” said a BJP leader. The party has requested three names from every Lok Sabha constituency through the state units of the party from all states.
The CEC is likely to approve the names of candidates for more than 150 seats in various states, including Telangana and Tamil Nadu, on Sunday. “If the seat-sharing talks with allies in some states are finalised by Sunday evening, the second list of candidates could be released, probably by Monday or Tuesday,” hinted a source.
It is also learned that tickets for a majority of ministers from Bihar and other states, as well as sitting MPs, are likely to accommodate some new faces, ensuring proportional representation of women in ticket sharing. “There is speculation about the inclusion of some names from the minority community as party nominees in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh,” said a party leader.
