Karnataka Polls: PM Modi, Amit Shah To Attend BJP's Poll Meet On April 9 To Finalise Candidates, Says Report

The core group of the BJP in Karnataka has shortlisted three names for each Assembly seat which will be deliberated upon at the Central Election Committee meeting on April 9.

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s Central Election Committee (CEC) may hold a meeting at the party office on April 9 to finalise candidates for the Karnataka assembly election, news agency ANI reported party sources as saying. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP National President JP Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP general secretary BL Santosh and other members of the party's CEC are set to take part at the meeting, as per the report.

The core group of the BJP in Karnataka has shortlisted three names for each Assembly seat which will be placed before the CEC, ANI reported citing sources.

The BJP central leadership will then deliberate over these names before finalising the candidates.

As per ANI, the BJP’s core group in Karnataka on April shortlisted candidates in a meeting with the party’s national general secretary Arun Singh, state election in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan, co-in-charge Mansukh Mandaviya, Central Election Committee member Annamalai, former chief minister BS Yediyurappa, and incumbent CM Basavaraj Bommai.

This update comes as the Congress on Thursday released its second list of 41 candidates for Karnataka assembly election and also marked a seat for regional outfit Sarvodaya Karnataka Party.

The election to the 224-member assembly will be held on May 10 and results will be declared on May 13.

The Congress has marked the Melukote assembly constituency for Darshan Puttannaiah of the Sarvodaya Karnataka Party.

The grand old party has so far finalised 166 candidates for the polls. The first list of 100 candidates was released earlier.

The candidates were finalised at a meeting of the Central Election Committee headed by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and top party leaders from Karnataka, including former chief minister Siddaramaiah, state chief DK Shivakumar and All India Congress Committee in-charge for the state, Randeep Surjewala, were present at the meeting.

The Congress looks to wrest power from the BJP in Karnataka, the only southern state where the saffron party is in power.

The BJP emerged as the largest single party in the last Assembly election, winning 104 seats, with the Congress winning 80 and the JD(S) 37 seats.