New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has called a meeting of its Central Election Committee (CEC) on Wednesday evening to discuss the poll preparations for the upcoming state assembly elections. The meeting will take place at 5 pm at the BJP headquarters.
The key meeting is expected to be attended by all 15 CEC members including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP president JP Nadda.
Five states -- Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, and Mizoram --are expected to go to the polls later this year, the last round of assembly contest before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Updates about the key meeting:
- In the meeting, discussions will take place regarding the constituencies that have been graded as 'D' in the BJP's survey report.
- The focus will be on the constituencies of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh where BJP faced defeat in the previous elections or the ones where it has never won.
- The committee members are expected to take stock of the ongoing poll preparations, gather feedback, and shape the party's strategy in the meeting, PTI reported citing sources.
- The meeting is also likely to discuss the selection of candidates and campaign strategy for the elections.
- Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, state party president VD Sharma, and other prominent leaders would attend the meeting, reported news agency ANI.
As per PTI, BJP's decision to convene the meeting at such an early stage, contrary to the usual practice of holding a CEC meeting after poll dates are declared, underlines the significance it has attached to the upcoming five state elections.
- Of the five states, BJP is only in power in Madhya Pradesh. The saffron party is running an intense campaign to oust the Congress government in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, and the BRS in Telangana.