With the Election Commission (EC) likely to announce poll dates in the national Capital in a day or two, the BJP is all set to expedite its candidate selection process. Post the rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, the party is likely to form its Election Committee comprising of 10 to 12 members on January 12. Besides, unlike the usual tradition where the party appoints observers for the 14 districts, this time it plans to depute one for each of the 70 constituencies in Delhi.
On Friday, the EC is to hold a crucial meeting regarding Delhi elections after which it is likely to roll out the schedule for polls. If the dates are announced on Friday or by Monday, the elections will be held by mid-February which means the party, anyway, will have very less time for preparations. “The candidates will need preparation time too. So we shall put the candidate selection procedure on fast track as soon as Saturday’s rally is over. The process is likely to be over by January 18,” said a senior BJP leader.
In an extra effort towards fielding the right person so that the party attains a simple majority in the polls, the BJP has appointed one observer for every constituency. Traditionally, the BJP appoints observers for 14 districts to shortlist the candidates from all applicants. Surveys for choosing the candidates have already been completed. “The observers based on surveys which have already been done and through the feedback of people in constituency will push forward two to three names from each seat. This shall be done with consultation of the election committee as well. lastly, the Central Election Committee of the BJP will take the final decision of candidate selection,” said another leader.
The Election Committee in Delhi will consist of Delhi BJP president Satish Upadhyay, four general secretaries in Delhi BJP, two BJP national secretaries — RP Singh and Dr Anil Jain — representing Delhi and some members appointed by the Delhi BJP president.
Well placed sources within the party have said the BJP is all set to repeat its sitting MlAs while it will offer four seats to its long-term ally Shiromani Akali Dal. The party may also give opportunity to its sitting councillors and senior functionaries ion three municipal corporations ruled by the BJP.
In the December Assembly polls of 2013, the BJP had suffered as against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for releasing its list of candidates very late. The AAP, on the other hand, had released its list very early because of which the candidates got ample time to campaign in their seats. “This time we are not going to waste time. It is going to come out very soon,” said the leader.
So far, the AAP has declared all its candidates while the Congress has announced the first list of 24 candidates for the Assembly polls.