Amidst claims of victory in Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, rival political parties are hurrying with the finalisation of list of candidates.
The ruling BJP on Tuesday discussed names for the first and second phase which may be released by the middle of this month.
The first phase polling, less than a month away, will be in 58 Assembly constituencies, spread over 11 districts on February 10. In the second phase , voting will be held in 55 Assembly seats across nine districts on February 14.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath here attended the BJP meeting to speed-up candidates selection as Covid19 has put further campaigning pressure on the contestants, restricting their campaign in the big state.
UP BJP President Swatantra Dev Singh also attended the meeting besides several other leaders with its national president J P Nadda, who has been infected by coronavirus, attending it virtually.
Besides, the names given by the state unit, names gathered by the central leadership through different surveys were also reviewed as well.
With the filing of nomination for the first phase of the seven-phase UP polls set to begin from January 14, the party’s Cental Election Committee (CEC) is likely to meet later this week to finalise the names of candidates, the sources said.
After Tuesday's meeting, CEC is expected to be convened convened on January 13, and the names of the candidates will be confirmed at this meeting.
The announcement of names for first- phse list is expected to come by February 15 to February 16, according to sources.