New Delhi: The BJP is expected to release its first list of candidates for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections this evening. The list, expected to include over 100 names, may not feature candidates from Tamil Nadu and Odisha. The announcement, scheduled for a press conference at 6 pm, could feature top guns like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. This follows a series of late-night marathon meetings in Delhi chaired by PM Modi on Thursday.  

Republic TV sources have learnt the BJP is set to announce its list of candidates for the upcoming elections, and it appears that there will be significant changes within the party's lineup. Sources familiar with the matter said that the first list of candidates may include over 20 new faces. Additionally, it is expected that around a dozen ministers, many of whom have previously served in the Rajya Sabha, will be asked to contest in the Lok Sabha elections for the first time. Moreover, there are indications that more than 40 to 50 sitting MPs will be replaced, suggesting a substantial shuffle within the BJP ahead of the elections.  

BJP CEC Meeting 

The BJP's Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting, which began at Prime Minister's Delhi residence began at 11 PM on Thursday and concluded at 4 AM today. Senior leaders attended the meeting to hold deliberations to finalise the first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls.  Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president J P Nadda and Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh were among those who attended the meeting as the ruling party looks to name its candidates for a sizeable number of the 543 Lok Sabha seats before the Election Commission (EC) announces the poll schedule. 

• 110-120 names will shortlisted in the first list.
• Satish Poonia confirmed to the Republic that 20 seats were discussed from Rajasthan.
• All seats from Gujarat were discussed.
• Seats on which BJP lost in the 2014 and 2019 LS polls were also discussed.
• In Telangana, at least three sitting MPs will get tickets. G Kishan Reddy, Bandi Sanjay Kumar and Arvind Dharmapuri likely to get ticket.

The elections are expected to be held in April-May Leaders from various states, including Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Gujarat's Bhupendra Patel, Madhya Pradesh's Mohan Yadav, Chhattisgarh's Vishnu Deo Sai, Uttarakhand's Pushkar Singh Dhami and Goa's Pramod Sawant, were among those who arrived for the meeting.

16 states were present in the CEC

• Uttar Pradesh 
• Uttarakhand
• Bengal
• Chhattisgarh
• Tripura
• Madhya Pradesh
• Jammu Kashmir
• Delhi
• Goa
• Daman and Diu
• Gujarat
• Rajasthan
• Jharkhand
• Assam
• Chandigarh
• Telangana

Names of Chhattisgarh candidates which were discussed in the CG meeting during the CEC

• Raipur: Laxmi Verma, Ashok Bajaj, Sanjay Srivastava
• Mahasamund: Chandulal Sahu, Ajay Chandrakar
• Janjgir: Ambesh Jangade, Nirmal Sinha
• Rajnandgaon: Madhusudan Yadav, Abhishek Singh
• Bilaspur: Lakhan Lal Sahu, someone from the Judeo family
• Surguja: Ram Sewak Paikra, Renuka Singh
• Durg: Vijay Baghel, Saroj Pandey
• Bastar: Mahesh Kashyap, Ojasvi Mandvi
• Kanker: Vikas Markam Bhojraj Nag
• Raigarh: Ravi Bhagat, Ball Bihari, Gomti Sai
• Korba: Chintu Rajpal, Saroj Pandey

BJP's First List of Candidates For 2024 Lok Sabha Polls: What to Expect

State leaders attend the CEC meeting when candidates for constituencies falling in their respective states are discussed. 110-120 names will shortlisted in the first list. 

A large number of those seats that the BJP has targeted for improving its prospects after unsuccessfully contesting those in 2019 may figure in the initial lists of candidates, following the template of recent Assembly polls, sources said.

Many Union ministers, including Bhupender Yadav, Dharmendra Pradhan and Mansukh Mandaviya, are likely to be fielded in the general elections after the party chose not to give them another Rajya Sabha term during the recent biennial polls to the Upper House of Parliament.

The BJP's poll candidate lists have often been as significant for those missing out as for the new faces given a chance and all eyes will be on whether it drops some well-known names or does some fresh experiment in selecting its nominees.