The Hindu : BJP to finalise full list on March 23

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 21, 2004

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National

BJP to finalise full list on March 23

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MARCH 20. The BJP is likely to finalise the names of more candidates for the coming Lok Sabha polls when the party's Central Parliamentary Board meets here tomorrow, but it needs another sitting on March 23 to finalise the complete list of party's nominees.

Addressing a press conference here today, the BJP general secretary, Pramod Mahajan, said the party had already finalised the names of 236 candidates and another 100 or so remained to be picked up from the recommended panels sent by the respective State units. "It will be done on March 23 while the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, is here'' he said.

Over the next week, the Prime Minister is scheduled to address three important election rallies in Uttar Pradesh — on March 22 at Maharajganj, on March 24 at Amroha and on March 28 at Bahraich. On March 26, he will receive the "Bharat Uday'' yatra of his deputy, L.K. Advani, at Amritsar.

Mr. Mahajan, introduced to the newspersons the octogenarian leader Chaudhary Yashpal Singh, who resigned from the Congress to join the BJP. The party would benefit in Western U.P., Rajasthan, and Haryana by the influence of Mr. Singh, a five-time MLA from U.P. and a former Lok Sabha member, Mr. Mahajan hoped. A former Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) leader from Bhiwani, Om Prakash Singh Mann also joined the party. Mr. Mahajan said the party's decision of going it alone in Haryana was attracting more political leaders towards it.

Mr. Kalyan Singh said the BJP was looking forward to winning at least 50 seats in U.P. and the tally could go up further. On the possibility of a Congress-Samajwadi Party alliance, he said it would not affect the prospects of the BJP.

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