BJP has finalized its first list of candidates for the West Bengal Assembly elections. During the party’s Central Election Committee meeting held at the Prime Minister’s residence yesterday, the BJP decided on the names of its candidates for more than half of the assembly seats in the state. According to sources, BJP’s first list is likely to be released tomorrow after a massive rally to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kolkata.
Name decided for 150 seats
According to BJP sources, around 160 names were finalized during the Central Election Committee meeting yesterday. The party has decided to re-nominate most of its sitting MLAs. The first list will include the names of many prominent faces of the state BJP unit. Leaders like Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Suvendu Adhikari and former state BJP President Dilip Ghosh have been included in this initial list. BJP is also preparing to field many former MPs in the assembly elections. However, the party has decided not to field its sitting MPs in the assembly elections this time.
Feedback from grassroots level
According to state BJP leaders, unlike the previous assembly elections, this time the process of selecting candidates has been done with utmost care. The selection process was going on for about a month. Under this process, feedback was gathered directly from the grassroots, and the opinion of the Party organization was given the utmost importance. Furthermore, the popularity of all the contenders was assessed through surveys conducted by various agencies. Along with loyalty to the organization and adherence to party discipline, the candidates’ ability to win was also an important consideration.
Bet on grassroots leaders
Unlike the last election, BJP has not rushed the process of selecting candidates this time. Every contender was thoroughly vetted. While awarding the ticket, the party has carefully considered local and regional equations as well as caste equations. According to BJP leaders, this time it was deliberately decided not to give tickets to leaders who changed sides. As a result—unlike the previous election—tickets were not given to leaders who had recently come from the Trinamool Congress or other opposition parties. Similarly, BJP has also decided not to field Bengali film or television stars this time, which is different from its strategy in the last elections. In their place, BJP is betting on grassroots level leaders. According to sources, another meeting of the Central Election Committee will be called soon to decide on the remaining seats.