BJP denies seats to 1 out of every 3 MLAs

NEW DELHI: The BJP on Tuesday carried out a major surgery in its list of candidates for the Chhattisgarh assembly polls, denying nominations to over a third of its MLAs in a clear attempt to overcome the anti-incumbency disadvantage at the constituency-level.

The party���s central election committee, which met here late on Tuesday night, cleared the names of 78 candidates for next month���s assembly polls. BJP president Rajnath Singh has been authorised to take a call on the remaining 12 seats. The state assembly has a total strength of 90.

Among those who have been given the green signal to contest the coming assembly polls from the state are chief minister Raman Singh, who has been given the ticket from Rajnandgaon, his ministerial colleagues Brij Mohan Agarwal (Raipur north) and Renuka Singh, a tribal who���s been given the ticket from the general seat of Premnagar, and state BJP chief Vishnudeo Sai (Pathargaon).

The party���s central leadership has sought to placate former Union minister Dilip Singh Judeo, who had to bow out of the Vajpayee government after being implicated in a sting operation and has been in hibernation since, by fielding his son Yudhvir Singh Judeo from the Chandrapur constituency.

The elder Judeo, who wields enormous clout in and around Jashpur on account of the aggressive re-conversion programme carried out by him, has, it is learnt, extended full co-operation to the party leadership. It���s now expected that he will go all out to seek support for the saffron party in the coming elections.

The CEC has also asked two sitting MPs and a former Lok Sabha member to enter the electoral fray for the assembly polls. These include, besides the state BJP chief, Mr Pannalal Mohile (Mungeli) and Mr Chandrashekhar Sahu (Abhanpur).

The party has decided to field 32 ST candidates, which is three more than the total number of seats reserved for them in the state, 9 women, 25 OBCs and 10 SCs. ``It���s fine blend of new blood, due consideration has been to the social composition of the state and a bold initiative to give proper representation to the STs, regardless of the delimitation exercise, which saw the seats kept aside for them coming down from 34 to 29,������ BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad, who���s incharge of Chhattisgarh, explained.