Lok Sabha elections are due in April-May, however, the election commission has not yet announced the polling dates. PM Modi along with top BJP leadership, CMs of BJP ruled states attended the CEC meeting.
 Prime Minister Narendra Modi, top BJP leaders including JP Nadda, Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh among others held deliberations to finalise the first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls during the Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting in Delhi on Thursday night.
According to reports, the saffron party may name around a 100-candidates in its first list. The BJP-led NDA has set a target of winning 400 seats in the upcoming general elections, due in April-May.
The ruling party looks to name its candidates for a sizeable number of the 543 Lok Sabha seats before the Election Commission (EC) announces the poll schedule.
BJP-ruled states CMs attend meeting
Leaders from various states, including 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, were among those who arrived at the BJP headquarters for the meeting.
State leaders attend the CEC meeting when candidates for constituencies falling in their respective states are discussed.
BJP to focus on tough seats in first list
A large number of those seats that the BJP has targeted for improving its prospects after unsuccessfully contesting those in 2019 may figure in the initial lists of candidates, following the template of recent Assembly polls, sources said.
Several union ministers likely to be fielded
Many Union ministers, including Bhupender Yadav, Dharmendra Pradhan and Mansukh Mandaviya, are likely to be fielded in the general election, after the party chose not to give them another Rajya Sabha term during the recent biennial polls to the Upper House of Parliament.
The BJP’s poll candidate lists have often been as significant for those missing out as for the new faces given a chance and all eyes will be on whether it drops some well-known names or does some fresh experiment in selecting its nominees.
The party’s brain trust, including Shah and Nadda, has held a series of meetings with its leaders from states to draw the lists of probables, before the CEC takes a final call.
With inputs from PTI
