BJP to announce 100 candidates for Lok Sabha polls by February-end

New Delhi: BJP is likely to announce its first list of 100 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha election by the end of this month, said people with knowledge of the matter.

The list is likely to comprise seats from different parts of the country, including UP, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, they said, adding that these seats are among those that the BJP had lost in the 2019 polls.

The party had identified 160 such seats as weak seats and organised extensive campaigning and public contact programmes in these constituencies over the past one year.

The list is expected to include a few Union ministers who will be contesting the general elections, said people in the know.

Party members on condition of anonymity said that the list has been finalised and it just needs a clearance from the central election committee. The panel is likely to meet on February 29, they said, after its meeting scheduled for February 22 had to be postponed due to other engagements of leaders.

BJP SC Morcha was planning a national convention on February 29 where party president JP Nadda was supposed to address the gathering. But that has been postponed, said party functionaries.

In the run-up to the recent assembly elections, BJP had announced its candidates for weak assembly seats much in advance. It fielded senior party leaders from such seats and the move paid off. A similar strategy is being followed for the Lok Sabha elections, said the people cited earlier.

BJP is also waiting for the outcome of discussions for forging new alliances in Punjab and Andhra Pradesh. Besides, there are new alliance partners in Bihar and UP where the party needs to work out seat-sharing.