BJP’s 2nd list for Chhattisgarh election will feature MPs; announcement next week

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will announce the second list for 69 assembly constituencies next week and will likely field parliamentarians in the upcoming assembly elections due in November this year, party officials aware of the matter said on Friday.

“The party will give tickets to MPs in the state. We have nine MPs from Chhattisgarh and the party is thinking of giving tickets to at least six of them. The name of Vijay Baghel (MP from Durg) has already been declared in the first list,” said a senior BJP leader.

Officials said that a discussion on the same was held in a meeting in Raipur on Thursday chaired by BJP national president JP Nadda along with the party’s top leadership in the presence of Union home minister Amit Shah.

Chhattisgarh BJP chief Arun Sao, Raipur MP Sunil Soni along with Union minister Renuka Singh are the MPs who can get a chance to fight assembly polls, said the BJP leader.

The candidates’ names will be finalized in Delhi in the BJP central election committee’s meeting next week, the leader added.

The BJP had on August 17 announced candidates on 21 out of 90 seats for the upcoming Chhattisgarh state assembly election.

Chhattisgarh BJP president Arun Sao said that the party will give tickets to the most eligible candidate who can win elections.

“The screening of the candidates will be finalized soon and the party will field candidates who have the support of workers and people. We are winning the elections,” Sao.

The first list comprised 16 fresh faces, five former lawmakers and five women.

In the first list, the party didn’t repeat any candidate who contested from these seats in 2018, when the Congress won 68 of the 90 assembly seats and the BJP could only win 15.