Ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Central Election Committee (CEC) of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held its second meeting on Monday to decide candidates for the polls. The election panel, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, discussed the names of the likely candidates for the elections.
The states tipped to come up for discussion included Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Haryana, news agency ANI reported.
So far, the BJP has the first list of 195 candidates from 16 states and two union territories. However, it withdrew two of its candidates – Bhojpuri singer-actor Pawan Singh and Upendra Rawat – after the choice sparked controversy.
The BJP has joined hands with a number of parties across the country ahead of the general elections, expected to be held in April-May, as it expects a bigger majority.
The Chandrababu Naidu-led Telugu Desam Party is the latest party to join the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. In Andhra Pradesh, the BJP has joined hands with Pawan Kalyan's Jana Sena.
The saffron party is also in talks with Odisha's ruling Biju Janata Dal for an alliance.
The party's brain trust, including Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda, has held a series of meetings with its leaders from states to prepare the lists of likely candidates before the CEC takes a final call.
Earlier, Haryana Deputy Chief Minister and Jannayak Janta party leader Dushyant Chautala held talks with Nadda over the distribution of seats among the two allies in the state.
A section of BJP leaders have reportedly spoken against the alliance in Haryana.
The BJP had won all ten Lok Sabha seats in Haryana in the 2019 elections. The JJP had allied itself with the party after the parliamentary elections.
On Monday, the Center implemented the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, a move that was passed four years after the controversial law and paves the way for citizenship for undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who came to India. before December 31, 2014.
The rules were announced days before the expected announcement of the Lok Sabha elections. With this, the Modi government will now start granting Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants – Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians – from the three countries.
(With ANI inputs)
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Published: Mar 11, 2024 9:37 PM IST