Manmohan Samal Leaves For Delhi; BJP’s CEC To Finalise LS Candidates From Odisha Today!

New Delhi: With the probability of an alliance with BJD in Odisha coming to an end, the BJP’s Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting on Saturday may give the nod to candidates for 21 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

BJP State President Manmohan Samal left for Delhi this morning and is likely to attend the crucial meeting, which will held this evening at party headquarters in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP National President JP Nadda, and Home Minister Amit Shah.

The meeting is likely to finalise 150 LS candidates from Odisha, Rajasthan, Haryana, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, where the party is yet to announce candidates for four of the eight seats which will go to polls in the first phase, where March 27 is the last date for filing of nominations.

The first list of BJP candidates for Lok Sabha and a few Assembly seats in Odisha can also be expected within a day or two, sources said.

The saffron party had announced its first list of 195 candidates on March 2, followed by 72 in second list on March 13, another nine on March 20 and fourth list of 15 candidates on March 21. Of the 291 candidates announced so far, two have expressed their inability to contest polls.

Polling for Lok Sabha elections will be held in seven phases, from April 19 to June 1. The Odisha legislative assembly and Lok Sabha polls will be held in four phases beginning May 13.