BJP likely to release Lok Sabha first list today

New Delhi: The first meeting of the BJP’s central election committee for the coming Lok Sabha polls is likely to be held here on Saturday. The CEC will announce the names of most of the candidates for the first phase of polling, which will be held on April 11 in 91 seats.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is, meanwhile, likely to launch his election campaign after March 25 and is expected to hold a few roadshows in some states as well.  

Sources said the Prime Minister is likely to hold more than two dozen rallies in Uttar Pradesh alone, where the BJP had won 71 parliamentary seats in 2014. Mr Modi, sources said, may hold one rally either in Muzaffarnagar, Kairana or Saharanpur in western UP, which will go to the polls in the first phase of polling. The election for 543 parliamentary seats will be held in seven phases till May 19 and the counting of votes will be taken up on May 23. Other than BJP president Amit Shah and senior leaders, Mr Modi will also attend the CEC meeting at the party headquarters. Speculation is rife that the BJP will replace many candidates in states, including in UP, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Mr Modi had sought feedback from the people through a survey, including on the most popular candidate from their constituency, on his NaMo app. The BJP leadership had also sought feedback from its cadre for the candidates.

All 42 seats in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana will go to the polls in the first phase with a fraction of constituencies in many other states, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Odisha and Assam also to see polling on April 11.

The Assembly polls in Telangana and Odisha will be held simultaneously with the general election.