New Delhi: Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) engaged in extensive deliberations on potential candidates across various states, setting the stage for the forthcoming electoral battle. Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP National President JP Nadda led separate meetings with party leaders from key states such as Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttarakhand, among others.
These discussions, held a day before the scheduled Central Election Committee meeting to finalise the first list of party nominees, underscore the meticulous planning and strategic approach adopted by the BJP as they prepare for the upcoming polls, reported news agency PTI.
In addition to the meetings held with leaders from Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttarakhand, similar deliberations have taken place with key figures from Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana. Party sources have indicated that the anticipated first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections is likely to feature prominent leaders such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, as per PTI.
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The first list for the 2019 elections had also included PM Modi and Shah, who was then the party's national president and had made his Lok Sabha poll debut from Gandhinagar. However, unlike the previous election cycle where candidate lists were released after the Election Commission announced the election schedule, the BJP is adopting a different strategy this time.
Drawing from the approach observed during the recent assembly polls in five states, the BJP aims to unveil its candidate names, particularly in constituencies where the party faced defeat five years back, prior to the announcement of election dates. Prime Minister Modi has set ambitious targets for the BJP, aspiring to secure 370 seats in the Lok Sabha polls, anticipated to be held in April-May, while aiming for over 400 seats for the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), reported PTI.
Rajnath Singh Predicts Grand Victory For NDA
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, during his day-long tour of Bihar, expressed confidence in the electoral prospects of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. He highlighted the increasing credibility of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a pivotal factor driving the party's success, as per PTI.
Speaking to reporters in Sitamarhi district, he said, "The way Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s credibility has been rising, there will be no area left where the (BJP symbol) lotus would not bloom."
When asked whether the BJP would secure victory in Sitamarhi, a Lok Sabha seat the party has never won, Defence Minister responded optimistically, stating that with the blessings of Mother Janaki, the lotus would indeed bloom in Sitamarhi. However, he added a touch of humour by mentioning the abundance of lotuses in a nearby pond, implying that the BJP's success in Sitamarhi would be akin to plucking a lotus from such a pond.
It's worth noting that the BJP has not fielded a candidate in Sitamarhi since the 1998 Lok Sabha polls, often leaving the seat for allies like Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) or, in instances when he contested separately in 2014. In 2019, the JD(U) emerged victorious in Sitamarhi with the support of a BJP-aligned candidate, Sunil Kumar Pintu, who stepped in after the official candidate of the chief minister’s party withdrew from the race, reported PTI.
The defence minister will be winding up his tour of Bihar with a public meeting at Darbhanga, before which he is scheduled to visit Siwan and hold discussions with BJP workers from a cluster of five Lok Sabha segments.