Senior BJP leaders held a meeting at the residence of former Chief Minister Kalyan Singh on Friday to streamline candidate selection process for the forthcoming lok Sabha elections.
Sources in the party said senior leaders including state party president Dr lakshmi Kant Bajpai, Kalraj Mishra, Hukum Singh and local MP lalji Tandon attended the meeting that continued for almost two hours.
This meeting assumes importance because it is held a few days ahead of expected visit of party’s national president Rajnath Singh. It is believed that though Singh would be in the state capital for a personal visit, he would also hold a meeting with state party leaders.
It is believed that senior leaders reached a consensus that all the 10 sitting MPs from UP would be retained and those candidates who came second in the last election would be given another chance to contest in the 2014 election battle.
There is speculation about change in seats of some sitting MPs including lalji Tondon, the sitting MP from lucknow. It is believed that some national-level leaders are eyeing this seat. There is also rumour about Murli Manohar Joshi not too willing to contest from Varansi - the seat he won by a close margin.
The leaders who attended the meeting refused to divulge the details of the meeting. "It was a courtesy visit at Kalyan Singh’s house. Please do not read much between the lines," BJP state president Dr lakshmi Kant Bajpai said.