New Delhi [India], March 10 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held a meeting of its Kerala leadership at the residence of former national president JP Nadda in Delhi on Monday to discuss preparations for the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.
The meeting, which began at 6 pm, lasted for nearly two hours and focused on the candidate list, state strategy, manifesto, slogans, and other things.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president Nitin Nabin, former party chief JP Nadda, Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, former Union minister V Muraleedharan, Kummanam Rajasekharan, K Surendran, Aparajita Sarangi, Prakash Javadekar, Vinod Tawde, Bhupendra Yadav, Shobha Karandlaje and BJP National Executive member PK Krishnadas were among those present at the meeting.
After the meeting, state BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar and senior leader V Muraleedharan said detailed discussions were held on the party's election preparations. They said the Kerala unit presented its election plan to the central leadership and deliberations were held on the proposed list of candidates.
According to party leaders, the BJP is likely to announce its candidates in two phases. The final decision on the candidates will be taken at the party's Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting scheduled for March 12, which is expected to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top leaders.
Chandrasekhar said the party believes the political situation in Kerala is favourable for the BJP and that there is growing public sentiment against the ruling government. He added that the party is confident voters will look beyond the traditional contest between the Left and the Congress.
Sources said the list of candidates prepared by the state leadership has already been submitted to the central leadership for approval. The first list, likely to include candidates for around 50 seats, could be announced between March 15 and March 20.
The BJP plans to contest around 100 seats in Kerala, while its allies Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) and Twenty20 are expected to contest the remaining 40 seats as part of the alliance.
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