Himachal Assembly elections: PM Modi attends BJP election committee to discuss seat distribution

New Delhi [India], October 19 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) top brass on Tuesday attended the party's Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting to hold a discussion on seat distribution for the forthcoming Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections at BJP National Headquarters in the national capital.
According to a BJP leader from Himachal Pradesh, the CEC meeting was attended by Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Minister Anurag Thakur, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and other BJP stalwarts. BJP National President JP Nadda chaired the meeting.
Last week, the Election Commission of India announced the schedule for the Assembly election in Himachal Pradesh.
The state will go to the polls on November 12 and the counting of votes will be held on December 8.
It's a perception of the political analysts that the ruling party has never returned to power so far in Himachal but BJP intends to return to power again as it did in Uttarakhand last year. So, the Marathon meeting took place on the distribution of seats.
A BJP leader said twelve to eighteen sitting MLAs won't be given tickets for the upcoming Assembly polls and the final list would come within the next two days.
The 15-member CEC has several new entrants like former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediurappa, Union ministers Bhupender Yadav and Sarbananda Sonowal, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, senior leader Om Mathur, OBC Morcha president K Laxman, Iqbal Singh Lalpura, Satyanarayan Jatiya and Sudha Yadav.
The list of candidates for Himachal Pradesh can be released by Wednesday.
According to sources, the final decision has been taken on the names of all the candidates in the Himachal elections.
October 25 is the last date for filing nominations in the hill state
Although BJP's rival Congress has released the first forty-six names out of sixty-eight seats on Tuesday. In which all nineteen sitting MLAs have again got the tickets in the first list.
In the 68-member Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) defeated the Congress Party and won 44 seats while Congress secured only 21 seats in 2017.
At present, in Himachal Pradesh legislative assembly, the BJP has 45 MLAs, while Congress has 22 and CPIM has 1 MLA.
In the upcoming state elections, The AAP is looking to set foot in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
In Gujarat, AAP could not open its account in the previous Assembly elections. After a massive victory in Punjab, the party is looking to spread its wings to other parts of the country.
Meanwhile, in Himachal Pradesh, the Congress is gearing up to challenge the BJP.
With the announcement of the election schedule in both states, the model code of conduct will come into force. (ANI)