Over half of existing BJP MPs may be axed in upcoming LS polls
Several new faces likely to be fielded
New Delhi: Nearly 50 per cent of the existing BJP MPs may find themselves left out in the cold for the upcoming general election this year.
In the last Lok Sabha elections, the party put up 428 contestants in 545 seats where 282 candidates won. However, this time the number will vary depending on the number of seats surrendered to allies.
Though different names are doing the rounds, it is near certain that five veterans of the saffron party- Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Sushma Swaraj, Sumitra Mahajan and Uma Bharti are not likely to contest the coming election.
A party source told Millennium Post that before the candidate selection, BJP conducted a three-level survey- where they have taken inputs from booth level party workers, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and government agencies.
In the last election, a large number of elected MPs came from different political parties, mainly from Congress, Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP), and Samajwadi Party (SP).
Last time, the major thrust was put on the 'winnability' factor. But this year, after the opposition parties are planning to put a single candidate particularly in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, the BJP is putting serious thought into selecting the right candidate.
The party top brass has set teams of 18 members in each LS constituency. The team consists of district in-charges, frontal organisation members, state leaders and central in-charges.
On Sunday the party notified the new election team of 111 members, including Union Ministers. The team is divided into 17 sub-groups.
The election manifesto team of 20 BJP top leaders will be headed by Union Home Minister and former party president Rajnath Singh. The media co-ordination team will be led by Union Law Minister and senior party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad.
