BJP likely to announce first list of candidates for Lok Sabha Elections tomorrow

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to release its first list of candidates on Friday. BJP's highest decision-making body, met on Wednesday on selection of candidates. The party has met for the third time in last six days. On Tuesday evening, it had held a seven-hour-long discussion to deliberate upon the names of party's candidates in various states. Another meeting of the BJP’s election committee has been called on March 22 to discuss various names.

Earlier, on March 13, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter and had urged opposition leaders such as Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Sharad Pawar, Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav and MK Stalin to encourage people for high voter participation. The prime minister Modi took to Twitter and wrote, “I appeal to @RahulGandhi, @MamataOfficial, @PawarSpeaks, @Mayawati, @yadavakhilesh, @yadavtejashwi and @mkstalin to encourage increased voter participation in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. A high turnout augurs well for our democratic fabric.”

“I urge my fellow Indians to enrich the 2019 Lok Sabha elections with their active participation. I hope this election witnesses a historic turnout. I particularly call upon first time voters to vote in record numbers," PM had said in another tweet.

The Lok Sabha Elections 2019 will be held in seven phases, starting from April 11, while the results of all the phases will be declared on May 23. Announcing the seven-phase schedule for 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora also said 10 lakh polling stations would be set up this time as against about nine lakhs in 2014.

In the first phase, 91 constituencies will go for polls, 97 constituencies in the second phase, 115 constituencies in the third, 71 in the fourth phase, 51 in the fifth phase, 59 in the sixth phase and 59 in the seventh phase. In the first phase, the polling will be held in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Sikkim, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Nicobar, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, Delhi, Puducherry, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand.