The BJP headquarters in New Delhi is all set to see a flurry of activity on Wednesday evening, with thousands of party workers gathering to accord a grand welcome to Prime Minister Narendra Modi following the successful G20 Summit.
India's hosting of the prestigious summit and the fact that it managed to achieve a consensus on the New Delhi Declaration is being seen as a major diplomatic victory. The country's successful presidency of the G20 and its championing of the issues of the Global South have also strengthened its case for a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council.
The Prime Minister will get down to electoral business right after the welcome and take part in the BJP's Central Election Committee meeting to decide on candidates for the crucial Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections.
The committee had also met on August 16 and candidates were announced for 39 constituencies in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh and 21 in Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh a day later. These were seats where the BJP does not have sitting MLAs.
Sources said Wednesday's meeting is likely to see deliberations on 50 of Madhya Pradesh's 230 seats. They added that a discussion on names for some seats in Chhattisgarh was also scheduled to happen at this meeting, but will now take place next week.
The other members of the committee include BJP President J P Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
The naming of the candidates in August, which was done three months ahead of the polls in the states, had taken many by surprise as it was the first time that the BJP had announced a list even before the Election Commission of India had declared the poll dates.
The move was seen as an attempt to pre-empt any friction within the party and iron out issues ahead of the elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram. This is especially important as the party had lost in all four major states in 2018.
The BJP had bounced back in the Lok Sabha elections the next year, sweeping Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and doing better than the Congress in Telangana. It also managed to unseat the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh, following the rebellion led by Jyotiraditya Scindia, and Shivraj Singh Chouhan took oath as chief minister in 2020.
Like in 2018, the elections in the five states are being seen as a 'semi-final' ahead of the Lok Sabha elections next year. They have become even more important because of the BJP's big loss in Karnataka in May, which has ensured that the party is not in power in any state in south India.
"Nothing Wrong": Chief Justice On PM's Ganesh Puja Visit To His Residence "Cowardly Attempts To Intimidate Diplomats": PM's 1st Comments On Canada Row "Mothers, Daughters In Shock": PM Slams Congress, INDIA For Shaina NC Remark Results Are Already Out In This US Hamlet. The Winner Is... Harris Or Trump: US Votes In Extraordinary Presidential Election Equatorial Guinea Civil Servant's Over 400 Sex Tapes Spark Massive Row "Will Demolish Artificial Barrier Of 50% Reservations": Rahul Gandhi Man, 45, Killed By Nephew At Bengal Market, Family Feud Suspected Tim Cook And Mark Cuban Rely On These AI Tools To Save Time Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.