PM Narendra Modi, Amit Shah discuss Gujarat poll candidates at committee meet

The BJP central election committee held its first meeting to discuss candidates for the ensuing assembly elections in Gujarat but did not finalise names of candidates. It is believed that the party wants to wait for the Congress list of candidates to work out winnable caste permutations.

The BJP CEC meeting lasted more than two hours and discussed candidates for most of the 182 seats.

Health minister JP Nadda told reporters that the list would be declared in “due course”.

“Most of the Gujarat seats were discussed and deliberated upon in the CEC meeting. The list will be declared at the right time. A decision on the candidates will be taken and in due course of time the list will be announced,” Nadda said.

Congress was to hold its election committee meeting on Thursday but has postponed it. BJP is likely to wait for the Congress list before it announces the names of its candidates.

Congress is holding deliberations with Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti chief Hardik Patel and will also have to accommodate candidates from OBC leader Alpesh Thakor and Dalit leader Jignesh Mewani’s camps. Hence, BJP would prefer to wait and see which caste leader should be fielded where. Gujarat elections have become more caste-centric than in the last three assembly polls when it was polarised on religious lines.

The BJP election panel, meanwhile, finalised candidates for six assembly seats in Karnataka.