Gujarat assembly polls: BJP likely to finalise all candidates today

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The BJP's top leadership will on Wednesday deliberate upon the candidates for Gujarat assembly polls, where the party is eyeing a win for the seventh time.

The BJP's central election committee, also comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party president JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, will meet here in the evening to finalise the candidates.

Elections in Gujarat will be held in two phases -- December 1 and 5.

The BJP is likely to finalise all 183 candidates during the meeting and may announce the list in the next few days, sources said.

Aiming to set a new record in terms of share in seats, the party is looking to inject new energy into the organisation. Hence, the possibility of dropping out several senior leaders cannot be ruled out, they said.

The sources also said the party has received suggestions that it should opt for new and young faces.

In the fiercely fought 2017 elections, the BJP had won 99 seats and its main rival Congress 77.

Currently, the BJP's strength in the assembly is 111, after several MLAs from the Congress defected to it, and it is unlikely that the saffron party will repeat all sitting MLAs.

This time, the AAP's entry into Gujarat has opened a new front in the otherwise bipolar election.