Himachal polls: BJP likely to release candidates' first list today, CM Thakur to contest from Seraj

The party had sought the names of three probable candidates for each seat from the office bearers in the state and it is expected that the list would surprise many in the political corridors.

New Delhi: The BJP, after a marathon meeting of its Central Election Committee chaired by party president J.P. Nadda, has finalised the list of candidates for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections. It is likely that the party will release its first list of candidates on Wednesday. Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur will contest the poll from the Seraj assembly constituency and it is being said that he will file his nomination papers on Wednesday.

The candidates, whose names were stamped in the meeting that lasted till late Tuesday, have also been indicated to prepare for the nomination. The meeting held at the party headquarters to finalise the names of the candidates was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, party's national organisation general secretary B.L. Santosh, Union Ministers Bhupendra Yadav and Sarbananda Sonowal, former Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The party leadership, which is targeting to form the government in the state again, discussed the names of candidates for each seat at multiple levels, and even conducted surveys to eliminate the anti-incumbency effect.

The party had sought the names of three probable candidates for each seat from the office bearers in the state and it is expected that the list would surprise many in the political corridors. A detailed discussion on the probable names was also held during two marathon meetings on Monday, that is, a day before the Central Election Committee meeting. The nomination process for assembly polls has started in the state and the last date for filing nominations is October 25.

Polling in the state is to be held on November 12 and results will be declared on December 8. Besides the members of the Central Election Committee, Tuesday's meeting was also attended by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, state BJP chief Suresh Kashyap, national vice president and Himachal Pradesh election in-charge Saudan Singh, Himachal Pradesh in-charge Avinash Rai Khanna and Union Minister Anurag Thakur, and other leaders of Himachal Pradesh BJP Core Committee.