With only a week to go for the last day of filing nominations to fight the Delhi Assembly polls, the BJP is now on its toes to quickly clear the list of candidates. Top sources within the party said the first list is likely to be released by the end of this week and is likely to contain the names of some sitting MlAs. The party swung into action, on Monday, as soon as the Election Commission announced February 7 as the polling day in the national Capital.
BJP national president Amit Shah held a meeting with top ranks of the State unit on Monday to discuss candidates and the party’s strategy in the coming days. The party has less than a week to announce candidates for polls as the lieutenant-Governor will issue the poll notification on January 14, and nomination will be open then onwards. The BJP is the only party running behind as its main rival the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has already released candidates for all 70 constituencies in the Capital. The Congress too has released the names of 24 candidates and its second list is expected any time. The saffron party, on the other hand, has not even released a single list.
The party will soon appoint its election committee for the selection procedure. The Committee will comprise of 10 to 12 members while observers have already been appointed for each of the 70 Assembly constituencies. Traditionally, the BJP appoints observers for 14 districts to shortlist the candidates from all applicants. However, this time the party might appoint observers for each of the constituencies.
“The final decision will be taken by the party’s parliamentary board. So far no election committee has been formed and the same unit which chose the candidates for Delhi Cantonment elections is likely to stay,” said Ramesh Bidhuri, Delhi BJP general secretary and South Delhi MP. When asked about ticket distribution and the first list, a senior party leader said, “The first list will mostly have our existing MlAs except one or two. Tickets will also be given to those who lost the December 2013 Assembly elections by a thin margin. The first list will come in just a few days from now.”