BJP to Announce First List of Candidates for Haryana Assembly Elections

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to declare its first list of candidates for the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections, scheduled for October 1. The party's Central Election Committee (CEC) will meet in New Delhi on August 25 to finalize the list, which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and senior leader Sudha Yadav from Haryana.

According to sources, the list will include "winnable" candidates from constituencies where the party won or lost by a narrow margin in the 2019 Assembly elections. The party has already shortlisted candidates for at least 20 seats during recent meetings of the State Election Committee (SEC) and senior leaders in Rohtak.

The probable list was prepared based on feedback from grassroots workers and surveys conducted by the party across the state. A panel of 3-4 candidates will be prepared for each seat, which will be finalized by the CEC.

Sources indicate that some incumbent legislators who face anti-incumbency may not be nominated by the party. Additionally, a majority of the 50 candidates who lost elections in 2019 will not get tickets this time.

Haryana BJP chief Mohan Lal Badoli has stated that the party will field 25% fresh faces compared to the 2019 polls. The sole criteria for candidate selection is "winnability." The party is also open to nominating "bigwigs" from other parties, indicating that party hoppers may get tickets. 

The two-day meeting of the SEC and the Haryana State Election Management Committee in Gurugram on August 22-23 will also discuss the list. With the elections approaching, the BJP is strategically selecting candidates to maximize its chances of winning. The announcement of the first list of candidates is eagerly awaited, and it will be interesting to see who makes the cut.