Karnataka Assembly Elections: BJP To Finalise Names Of Candidates During April 9 Meet

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New Delhi: The Central Election Committee of the BJP may hold a meeting at the party office on April 9 to finalize candidates for the Karnataka assembly elections, said party sources.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP national president JP Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP general secretary BL Santosh and members of the party`s Central Election Committee will be present at the meeting.

BJP Final list to be released on April 9

According to party sources, the core group of the BJP in Karnataka has shortlisted three names for each Assembly seat which will be placed before the Central Election Committee. The party`s central leadership will then brainstorm over these names before locking the candidates.

On April 4, the BJP`s core group in Karnataka drew up a shortlist of candidates in a meeting with the party`s national general secretary Arun Singh, state election in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan, co-in-charge Mansukh Mandaviya, Central Election Committee member Annamalai, former chief minister BS Yediyurappa and his successor and incumbent Basavaraj Bommai.

The BJP emerged as the largest single party in the last Assembly elections, winning 104 seats, with the Congress winning 80 and the JD(S) 37 seats. The assembly elections will be held in a single phase on May 10, with the counting of votes scheduled on May 13.

The Congress on Thursday released its second list of 41 candidates for the next-month Karnataka assembly elections and also marked a seat for regional outfit Sarvodaya Karnataka Party.

The elections to the 224-member assembly will be held on May 10 and results will be declared on May 13. The Congress has marked the Melukote assembly constituency for Darshan Puttannaiah of the Sarvodaya Karnataka Party.

It has so far finalized 142 candidates for the polls. The first list of 100 candidates was released earlier. The candidates were finalised at a meeting of the Central Election Committee headed by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and top party leaders from Karnataka, including former chief minister Siddaramaiah, state chief DK Shivakumar and All India Congress Committee in-charge for the state, Randeep Surjewala, were present at the meeting. The Congress is seeking to wrest power from the BJP in Karnataka, the only southern state where the saffron party is in power.

(With PTI Inputs)