BJP zeroes in on 250 for polls, veterans may not be fielded

NEW DELHI: BJP is learnt to have finalised names of over 250 candidates amid strong doubts about the likelihood of some veterans, including L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, contesting the elections.

Party sources said BJP’s central parliamentary board had chosen close to 275 candidates and veterans may not feature among them.

Sources said that former CMs of Uttarakhand B S Koshiyari and B C Khanduri, have expressed their desire to opt out and make room for younger colleagues.

Former Union minister Kalraj Mishra, who was elected from Deoria in UP in 2014, and former deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha Karia Munda are also said to be inclined on hanging their boots . This has also raised the possibility of seniors like L K Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, LS Speaker Sumitra Mahajan as well as former Himachal CM Shanta Kumar exiting the poll fray.

Advani, now 91, was placed in the ‘Marg Darshan Mandal’ along with Joshi in 2014 in persuance of Sangh Parivar’s decision that those over 75 should not be burdened with executive responsibilities.