NEW DELHI: On a day senior party leaders were set to finalise the remaining candidates for Uttar Pradesh, the
BJP postponed its fourth central election committee (CEC) meeting on Tuesday as leaders are working to arrive at a consensus over candidates in some constituencies amid increasing number of ticket aspirants.
The party has announced 149 candidates for the first two phases of assembly polls in the state and was set to finalise the rest in the presence of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi.
As a large number of state leaders are lobbying for tickets for their favourites, including kin in several cases, BJP chief Amit Shah held deliberations with Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Kalraj Mishra, state unit president Keshav Prasad Maurya and state in-charge Om Mathur among others on Tuesday.
Sources said a number of party MPs besides regional leaders, including those inducted into the saffron fold from rival parties, have been pushing the candidature of those close to them, making the task of evolving a consensus tricky.
Swami Prasad Maurya, the former BSP leader, is strongly lobbying for his favourites and the party is finding it hard to meet his aspirations. The Maurya camp has accused BJP of backtracking from its promise of accommodating his supporters other than his family members.