Haryana Assembly polls: BJP chiefs jostle heads to shortlist best candidates

Leaving nothing to chance despite being on a strong wicket in Haryana, the BJP convened party's Core Committee meeting to discuss the strategy and ticket distribution for the upcoming assembly elections in the state.

Facing the first big election test after tasting huge success in Lok Sabha polls, the 90-member Haryana assembly will go to poll along with Maharashtra in a single-phase on October 21 and the results will be declared on October 24. BJP had won 10 out of 10 seats in Haryana in the Lok Sabha elections.

The meeting was chaired by party president Amit Shah and working president, Jagat Prakash Nadda and attended by Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, State BJP in-charge Anil Jain, Haryana election in-charge Narendra Singh Tomar, party state president Subhash Barala among others.

Sources said while the meeting also discussed the strategy, the main focus was possible winnable candidates who could be given tickets. Unlike opposition parties that are facing problem in finding winnable candidates, the BJP is facing a peculiar problem of having plenty of heavyweight candidates. Though it's an enviable position, it can also prove to be a headache if not dealt with deft planning as there are many new entrants to the party from opposition parties who are yearning for a ticket.

Party sources said, Shah and Nadda weighed the pro and cons of all the probable candidates whose list was prepared in advance by the Haryana in-charge. The BJP is expected to come out with a final list in less than a week's time. The last of filing nomination is October 4 and date of withdrawal of candidature is October 7.

The BJP has already made clear that they would be fighting the assembly elections in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his major success in abrogating Article 370 and 35A. Implementation of national register of citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Bill are the other nationalist issue on the agenda of the BJP.