BJP likely to announce Lok Sabha candidates soon to stump INDIA bloc

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party has another trick up its sleeve to stump the opposition INDIA bloc alliance. The saffron unit is expected to finalise and announce the names of its candidates much in advance for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

“The BJP is likely to announce the first batch of names for Lok Sabha polls by next month, while also announcing a major chunk by February,” sources said and pointed out that it will be well ahead of the announcement of dates for general elections by the Election Commission of India.

The general elections are expected to take place in April and May next year as the tenure of the 17th Lok Sabha is scheduled to end on 16 June 2024.

The step comes after taking a cue from recent Assembly polls success, where BJP candidates were announced earlier than the opposition, the party is expected to name its official candidates to at least one-third of the Lok Sabha seats well in advance. The early finalisation of names is also expected to help saffron allies in the National Democratic Alliance.

Sources stated that the top leadership and strategists have already reviewed several rounds of surveys that have been conducted by the BJP, its saffron affiliates and professionals to find out the sentiments regarding the party's sitting MPs.

A final call on each of the sitting MPs would be taken by the party after assessing the winnability aspect of these individuals, sources said. 

Through these extensive surveys, the top leadership has also tried to identify possible replacements for the sitting BJP MPs who are considered weak or have developed strong anti-incumbency, sources added. 

The party leadership feels that these surveys have proven credible in the recent Assembly polls and they are likely to be given much weightage in finalising candidates for next year’s general elections.

Why is the BJP in a hurry to name candidates for the 2024 polls?

The saffron strategists feel that an early finalisation of its candidates is expected to stump the opposition INDIA bloc. 

The BJP leadership knows that the opposition parties are still in their initial stage as far as seat sharing is concerned.

Most of these INDIA bloc allies are likely to face difficulty over seat sharing in several states, where they are in direct contest against each other. This internal squabbling between the INDIA bloc allies was widely witnessed during this week’s meeting of the alliance.

By naming its candidates earlier than expected, the BJP wants to have an advantage of first of the blocks in the crucial electoral race, sources pointed out.

A timely announcement of names for Lok Sabha candidates is expected to ensure that the BJP can plug any rebellion within the party and give it more time to address any angered leaders. 

At the same time, the selected candidates will also receive adequate time and energy to plan their local campaign, giving them an edge over the opposition candidates, sources said.  

In the 2019 polls, the BJP won 303 seats, increasing its 2014 tally by 21 seats. The voters re-elected the same party to power with a bigger majority in the Lok Sabha with more than 37 per cent of the vote share.

The BJP is targeting to better its 2019 Lok Sabha numbers in next year’s general elections while seeking a third successive term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.