The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to announce today its list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The BJP, according to sources, employed a multi-layered and exhaustive process, encompassing public feedback, internal evaluations, and high-level strategic discussions, to select the candidates poised to represent the party in the upcoming electoral battle.
In a late-night meeting yesterday, attended by senior leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and party president JP Nadda, the ruling party held extensive discussions on candidates for the 543 Lok Sabha seats ahead of the Election Commission’s formal poll schedule announcement. The general expectation is that the elections will be held in April-May.
On-Ground Approach
The BJP has harnessed technology to solicit feedback from the grassroots level. Using the Namo App, the public was given a platform to voice their opinions on the performance of incumbent MPs, and in a departure from conventional methods, the BJP sought the opinions of the people on the ground by inquiring about the three most popular leaders in each area. This bottom-up approach, according to the party, aimed to ensure that the candidates resonated with the sentiments and aspirations of the local population.
Over the past two years, The BJP has continually sought feedback from its MPs, evaluating their performance and addressing concerns.
To further enhance the decision-making process, the BJP reached out to survey agencies to compile comprehensive reports on each parliamentary constituency.
Ministers were tasked with visiting Lok Sabha seats, compiling reports, and providing valuable insights into the performance of incumbent MPs.
The gathered information from ministers and organisational sources was then collated in state-level election committee meetings, laying the foundation for the final selection process. Subsequent to these deliberations, the core BJP group of each state engaged in discussions with top leaders like Mr Nadda, Home Minister Shah, and general secretary BL Santosh.
The BJP’s outreach extended beyond party lines, with concerted efforts to attract candidates from other parties as well. The BJP leadership made it clear that the tickets of MPs with subpar performance would be revoked without hesitation. At least 60-70 incumbent MPs might face ticket cancellations to make way for newer faces.
The party has said that many of its MPs belonging to the Other Backward Classes (OBC) community are expected to contest again. In the 2019 general elections, the BJP witnessed success as 85 of its OBC MPs emerged victorious.
New Candidates, Old Faces
In the meeting which began close to 11 pm yesterday and lasted for over four hours, the BJP, according to party sources, has prioritised capturing or improving its standing in seats it contested unsuccessfully in the 2019 elections.
It is anticipated that several Union ministers, including Bhupender Yadav, Dharmendra Pradhan, and Mansukh Mandaviya, could be nominated for the general elections. Notably, the party opted not to extend another Rajya Sabha term to these ministers during the recent polls to the Upper House of Parliament.
