BJP's poll panel to meet tomorrow to finalise names for Bengal, Kerala elections

New Delhi: The BJP is moving ahead with deciding its candidates for the upcoming assembly elections in West Bengal and Kerala. The party's Central Election Committee (CEC) will hold a meeting on March 12 to decide on the first list of candidates for the two states.

Sources told ET that the party wants to give ample time to candidates for election preparation in Kerala and Bengal, taking a first-mover advantage. This will also be the first CEC meeting for the newly-elected party president, Nitin Nabin. Other members of the CEC, including PM Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Devendra Fadnavis and others, will also be present at the meeting.

On Wednesday, the party will first hold a core group meeting of the West Bengal BJP in Delhi. The meeting will be attended by Nabin, Shah and senior party leaders from Bengal. The names of the candidates will be discussed before being presented to the CEC. According to sources, the party is likely to release the first list of candidates for both states by the weekend.