Ahead of the expected announcement of the Lok Sabha polls by the Election Commission next month, the BJP is likely release the names of a whopping 100 candidates on Thursday. The list is expected to feature both of the party’s heaviest hitters – Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah – sources have told NDTV.
The Central Election Committee of the BJP is likely to meet on Thursday, the sources said, adding that the announcement of the first list of candidates may be made after that. The first list will be crucial because the ruling party has set itself a mammoth target of winning 370 of 543 seats and is working towards securing 400 seats for the NDA.
PM Modi is the MP from Varanasi, a constituency he has won twice. He was elected with a huge margin of 3.37 lakh votes in 2014 and had increased it to 4.8 lakh in 2019. Amit Shah had contested the 2019 election from Gandhinagar, a seat that had been held by BJP veteran LK Advani until then.
Replying to the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address in the Lok Sabha earlier this month, PM Modi had hinted at the troubles of the opposition INDIA bloc and said that it seemed that the opposition parties had lost the courage to contest elections. “I can gauge the mood of the nation, it will definitely give the NDA more than 400 seats and the BJP at least 370 seats,” he had said, before repeating the party’s “Ab ki baar, 400 paar” slogan.
