The Bharatiya Janata Party has finalised its list of candidates for the crucial Urban local Bodies polls scheduled to be held in three phases in November.
The process of filing nominations for the first phase began from Saturday, polling for which will be held on November 22 in 24 districts. The BJP will be the first major party to announce candidates in the next two days for most seats.
State BJP general secretary and Meerut poll in-charge, Vijay Bahadur Pathak said in luccknow that the party will contest the UlB elections on good governance and achievements of the state and Central governments.
“The party has prepared a list of candidates of all seats and the final candidates’ list would be announced after meeting of concerned screening committees soon,” he said.
Pathak said that since the last date for filing nominations for the first phase of elections was November 6, the list of candidates would be announced in a day or two.
The BJP leader said that a campaigning strategy has been finalised by the party brass and senior leaders would launch electioneering once the candidates were finalised.
BJP sources said that the party has drawn a criterion for selection of candidates. A panel of three candidates for each ward in Nagar Nigam, Nagar Palika Parishad and Nagar Panchyat was being prepared and the suitable candidate would get the nod.
Sources also said that besides Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, state BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey, all ministers, MlAs and office bearers will be assigned specific responsibilities for the elections. The BJP also plans to organise meeting of party workers in each of the 652 Urban local Bodies.
“We are aware of that the results of UlB elections will have a bearing on the Assembly poll in Gujarat in December. If the BJP sweeps the UlB poll in UP, then it will act as a huge booster in Gujarat and a reverse may impact the electoral prospects of the party in the western state,’’ said a BJP leader.