The BJP headquarters in New Delhi is going to abuzz with activity on Wednesday evening with hordes of party workers set to welcome PM Narendra Modi following the successful G20 summit.
India recently hosted the G20 summit during which consensus was built on the New Delhi Declaration among the participating nations. It is being seen as a major diplomatic victory.
India’s successful presidency of the G20 and its championing of the issues of the Global South have also strengthened its case for a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council.
Modi will get down to electoral business right after the welcome and take part in the BJP's Central Election Committee meeting to decide on candidates for the crucial Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh elections, reported NDTV.
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The committee had also met on August 16 and candidates were announced for 39 constituencies in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh and 21 in Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh a day later. These were seats where the BJP does not have sitting MLAs.
The report quoting sources said Wednesday's meeting is likely to see deliberations on 50 constituencies in Madhya Pradesh and 35 in Chhattisgarh.
The other members of the committee include BJP President J P Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
The naming of the candidates in August, which was done three months ahead of the polls in the states, had taken many by surprise as it was the first time that the BJP had announced a list even before the Election Commission of India had declared the poll dates, the report said.
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BJP’s move was seen as an attempt to pre-empt any friction within the party and iron out issues ahead of the elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram.
It is significant as BJP had lost in all four major states in 2018.
BJP had bounced back in the Lok Sabha elections the next year, sweeping Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, and doing better than the Congress in Telangana.
