BJP conducts CEC meeting, likely to release its 4th list of candidates for LS Polls today

The list, which is expected to be announced on Sunday, will include candidates from Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh. The decision was made during a three-hour Central Election Committee meeting attended by key BJP leaders on Saturday.

The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP National President JP Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya, Brijesh Pathak, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, among others.

As per party sources, in Uttar Pradesh, 10 names were discussed and finalized. Out of the total 24 seats left to announce, 10 were discussed and are expected to be announced in the fourth list.

In Odisha, 21 seats were discussed. As per sources, Dharmendra Pradhan is likely to contest from from Sambhal, Sambit Patra from Puri, and Aprajita Sarangi from Bhubneshwar in the upcoming Lok Sabha election. However, the names of two sitting MPs might be removed.

In Rajasthan, eight seats were discussed.

In West Bengal, all remaining seats were discussed, out of which 20 have been announced in earlier lists. Eighteen, including Asansol, were discussed on Saturday. Three seats are yet to be discussed.

Bihar and Maharashtra are to be discussed in the next Central Election Committee meeting.

Meanwhile, the Congress party on Saturday released its fourth list of 46 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The election for 543 Lok Sabha seats will commence in seven phases starting April 19. Various parties have declared their initial lists for the elections, which will conclude on June 1. The counting of votes will take place on June 4.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the BJP won 303 seats, while the Indian National Congress (INC) managed to secure only 52 seats. In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the BJP won 282 seats, while the INC secured only 44 seats. (ANI)