In preparation for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2024, both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have been busy finalizing their candidate lists. The BJP reportedly held its second Central Election Committee meeting at its Delhi headquarters on Monday night, where around 90 candidates across seven states were being finalized, according to a report by Times of India. The party has already named candidates for 195 seats in 16 states and two Union territories. Additionally, senior BJP leaders have engaged in discussions with alliance partners in Haryana and Andhra Pradesh to finalize seat-sharing agreements.
Meanwhile, the top leadership of the Congress party has also cleared the names of approximately 40 candidates for the upcoming polls. Sources reveal that former chief minister Kamal Nath's son, Nakul Nath, is set to contest again from Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara constituency, while Vaibhav Gehlot, son of Ashok Gehlot, will contest from Jalore in Rajasthan. Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot are unlikely to contest this time, with Gehlot's son entering the fray and Pilot overseeing Chhattisgarh as AICC general secretary, sources added.
The meeting discussed seats from various states, including 14 each from Rajasthan, Assam, and Gujarat, 16 from Madhya Pradesh, five from Uttarakhand, and one from the Union Territory of Daman and Diu. Notably, the names of senior Congress leaders such as Ashok Gehlot, Kamal Nath, Digvijaya Singh, and Harish Rawat were not discussed during the second meeting of the Congress's Central Election Committee (CEC).
It appears that both parties are strategically positioning themselves for the upcoming elections, with a mix of experienced leaders and young contenders being considered for key constituencies.