BJP parliamentary board meets to strategise on Lok Sabha polls

The BJP parliamentary board met in New Delhi Friday to finalise the party's strategy for the Lok Sabha polls with its top leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and president Amit Shah, brainstorming for close to three hours. There was no official statement on what transpired in the meeting.

Asked from where PM Modi will contest, sources said that it was already decided that he will fight from Varanasi, the constituency he represents in the current Lok Sabha. The party is yet to take a call on whether he will contest from any other seat or not. Modi has fought and won from two seats in 2014 polls.

There has been speculation that the party is considering introducing certain criteria, including age bar, for candidates, but there has been no official word on this. A party leader said "winnability" will be the key consideration in selecting candidates.

Following the meeting, BJP general secretary Bhupendra Yadav announced a tie-up with All Jharkhand Students Union in Jharkhand. The AJSU is already a partner in the BJP-led government in the state. Yadav said the BJP will contest 13 of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state and the AJSU one.