BJP’s first list of 100 to be out on Feb 29

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party is set to announce its first list of Lok Sabha candidates consisting of about 100 names on February 29. The first list would include the names of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, perhaps BJP national president J P Nadda and some more top leaders.

The date of announcement of the first list assumes importance as there are strong speculations that the election schedule for theLok Sabha polls would be announced on March 2. Generally, the schedule is announced 50 days ahead of the actual polls.

Meanwhile, the BJP central election committee met in New Delhi on Saturday in which party national president J P Nadda, PM Modi and Amit Shah and other leaders participated. It is learnt that the first list would consist of important leaders from Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.

The names of Assembly and Lok Sabha candidates for Andhra Pradesh would be decided next week after consulting TDP and Jana Sena chiefs N Chandrababu Naidu and Pawan Kalyan.

YSRCP rebel MP K Raghu Ramakrishna Raju, who was subjected to third degree methods when he was arrested, would be contesting from the Narsapuram constituency most probably as BJP candidate. Talking to the media Raju said, it is still not clear which party would be contesting from that seat. He said whichever party gets the seat, he would be their candidate.