BJP relies on 'bench strength': Modi, Shah to finalise second list of candidates for Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh today

The party's decision to announce the candidate's name before the announcement of the dates of elections in these states was taken at a time when Congress was grappling with finalising its list of candidates in these states.

Hyderabad: On a day when the INDIA bloc leaders go into a huddle at the 14-member coordination committee in New Delhi, rival BJP is also holding its Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting to announce the final list of party candidates for two major poll-bound states– Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, which are due for polls later this year.

The meeting will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party chief JP Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah and other core committee members. In August, the BJP released the first list of 39 candidates for the Madhya Pradesh assembly election and 21 for the Chhattisgarh assembly elections. Wednesday's meeting is also likely to discuss the party's poll preparedness for these states. The saffron party, which has Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Vijay Baghel in the ranks, is banking on its bench strength, party sources said.

Sources said Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, state party chief VD Sharma and state general secretary of organisation Hitanand Sharma flew into Delhi on Monday afternoon to attend the meeting.

A party source hinted that the BJP’s CEC meeting is expected to put the seal of approval on the second lists of candidates for Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh as part of the party’s well-crafted strategy to field the candidates much earlier in the polls in order to gain a strong electoral mandate from these states.

Madhya Pradesh is scheduled to go to the polls for the 230-member Assembly while Chhattisgarh will vote for the 90-member assembly. Two states are likely to witness a high-pitched poll battle.

The party is cautious and leaving nothing to chance, the source said and added that an early announcement of the candidates' list is an indicator to the fact. The party's decision to announce the candidate's name before the announcement of the dates of elections in these states was taken at a time when Congress was grappling with finalising its list of candidates in these states.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with other CEC members, who are closely monitoring the party leaders' activities, is expected to finalise candidates' names on the basis of feedback from candidates and keep in mind the prospective candidate’s winnability.

The party has already completed its groundwork and identified many 'weak and vulnerable' assembly segments in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh on the basis of results of previous assembly polls' outcomes.