BJP Likely To Release Its 1st Lok Sabha Candidates' List Today: Sources

The BJP is expected to release the first list of candidates for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections this evening, sources said. More than 170 names could be announced today which might not include any from Tamil Nadu and Odisha.

The list that is said to be announced at a BJP press conference at 6 pm and may include heavyweights such as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah comes days after back-to-back late-night meetings in Delhi. The BJP may also announce new allies in the National Democratic Alliance or NDA, they said.

The BJP's Central Election Committee (CEC) met on Thursday night as its members, including PM Modi who chaired the meeting, held deliberations to finalise the first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls expected to be held in April-May. The ruling party is looking to name its candidates for the Lok Sabha seats before the Election Commission's poll schedule announcement. The meeting was attended by leaders from various states - Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Gujarat's Bhupendra Patel, Madhya Pradesh's Mohan Yadav, Chhattisgarh's Vishnu Deo Sai, Uttarakhand's Pushkar Singh Dhami and Goa's Pramod Sawant. State leaders usually attend the CEC meeting when candidates for constituencies in their states are discussed.

Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan, who also attended the meeting, is likely to be fielded from Vidisha. The list may also have 50 names for Uttar Pradesh seats with actor-tuned politician Hema Malini expected to be refielded from her constituency Mathura.

The BJP, the sources claim, intends to name most of its candidates well before poll dates are announced to ramp up pressure on its rival, the Congress-led INDIA bloc, which is still facing roadblocks in seat-sharing deals in many states.

Indicating at some major contest, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekar could take on Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, the sources said. Mr Tharoor is an MP from Thiruvananthapuram.

As per the sources, the BJP is likely to follow its template of recent assembly polls and announce a large number of seats in the first list where it needs to improve its prospects.

The BJP's candidate lists often give a chance to new faces and this time around also eyes will be on whether it drops some well-known names or does some fresh experiment in selecting its nominees. This holds significance as two BJP MPs - Jayant Sinha and Gautam Gambhir - requested BJP president JP Nadda today to relieve them so that they can focus on their other commitments.