BJP may not field some senior leaders in Lok Sabha polls

BJP is unlikely to field some of its senior leaders in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, which kick off on April 7.

According to sources, there is a view within the party against fielding some of their senior leaders who are already members of Rajya Sabha. These leaders, the top BJP leadership feels, would help the party in election management as fielding all of them would not be a sensible proposition. 

Among these leaders are included Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, former BJP President M Venkaiah Naidu, party vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, BJP's Parliamentary Board member Thawar Chand Gehlot and other party leaders like Dharmendra Pradhan and JP Nadda. While Pradhan is the BJP in-charge for Bihar, Nadda is the in charge for the party's affairs in Chhattisgarh.
Sources said BJP may field party spokesperson Prakash Javadekar, who could not get a renomination to Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra after BJP gave the seat to RPI's Ramdas Athawale. A seat is being worked out for Javadekar, they added.

The BJP's Central Election Committee is likely to finalise the second list of its candidates on March 8, which may include some senior party leaders.