BJP’s Second List Of Lok Sabha Candidates Likely On Wednesday, Says BS Yediyurappa

BS Yediyurappa said he is going to the New Delhi on Wednesday and added that the next Lok Sabha list will likely feature candidates from Karnataka.

BJP's Parliamentary Board member and former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Monday suggested that the party's second list of candidates for the crucial Lok Sabha elections is likely to be finalised on Wednesday (March 6).

Earlier on Saturday, BJP released its first list of 195 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls, naming 34 Union ministers including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will contest from Varanasi for a third time. The first list with candidates across 16 States and Union Territories included heavyweights like Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh from their current Gandhinagar and Lucknow seats respectively.

BS Yediyurappa said he is going to the New Delhi on Wednesday. He also added that the next Lok Sabha list will likely feature candidates from Karnataka, a report in PTI said.

“Day after tomorrow, there is a meeting in Delhi. I am going there. Most probably the second list (of Lok Sabha candidates) (also) comprising Karnataka may be finalised. In view of that, I am going to Delhi. I believe that the list will be finalised day after tomorrow. National leaders will take a final decision on the list,” he said.

In response to a question on whether the second list will have names of nominees for all the 28 constituencies in Karnataka, Yediyurappa said, “Most probably there will not be any delay. All the seats may be declared.”

On the chances of new faces in Karnataka, he said he has no clue as to what's on the minds of the party's national leaders. "Final decision will be taken by the leaders in Delhi", he added.

The party stalwart also did not say how many seats would be allotted to NDA partner JD(S) in the State but added that an agreement would be reached with the outfit led by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda. 

In the first list, the BJP fielded two former chief ministers -- Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Biplab Kumar Deb. However, in Delhi four sitting MPs including Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi, former Union minister Harsh Vardhan and Ramesh Bidhuri have been dropped.

The list of candidates for the 195 constituencies included nearly 155 seats the party had won in the 2019 polls. Seven ministers, who were members of Rajya Sabha and were expected to fight the Lok Sabha elections, have been fielded in the polls, as per PTI.