NEW DELHI: In preparation for the upcoming elections for 24 Rajya Sabha seats and MLC polls in various states, the BJP’s central election committee (CEC) convened at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence on Sunday to finalize candidate selections. The CEC comprises Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, and BJP President Nitin Nabin. This meeting occurred a day before nominations for the Rajya Sabha elections are set to open.
Following the meeting, the BJP announced its list of 10 candidates for the MLC elections concerning 16 seats in Maharashtra, just ahead of the nomination deadline. Such in-person meetings of the BJP CEC for Rajya Sabha or MLC elections are uncommon, suggesting that key party officials may have also discussed other significant political issues, including a potential reorganization of the national team’s office bearers.
Additionally, tensions have arisen between the state BJP leadership and its Maharashtra coalition partners, Shiv Sena and NCP, regarding the distribution of MLC seats. This discord may have prompted BJP leadership to engage directly. Shiv Sena President and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had previously raised these concerns with Amit Shah amidst the ongoing stalemate.
The 24 Rajya Sabha seats scheduled for election are distributed among various states: four each in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Karnataka; three in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan; two in Jharkhand; and one vacancy each in the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, and Mizoram.
