Amit Shah in huddle with Nadda, BSY and Bommai ahead of meet to select candidates

As the central election committee of BJP is set to finalise the list of candidates for the Karnataka elections on Sunday, challenges await the panel with various factions lobbying for their respective loyalists aspiring for tickets.
Party insiders feel that though the strength and influence of PM Modi’s charisma on Karnataka voters will be the most decisive factor in shaping the party’s fate, equally crucial will be the parameters on which the candidates will be finalised.
Modi, home minister Amit Shah, defence minister Rajnath Singh, party chief JP Nadda, veteran party leader from Karnataka BS Yeddyurappa and party’s general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh are amongst the parliamentary board members likely to be in attendance when the list of candidates are finalised.

Ahead of the crucial meeting, marathon discussions took place at Nadda’s residence on Saturday, where Shah was joined by Karnataka CM Basavraj Bommai, Yeddyurappa and state president Nalin KumarKatil.
“We will discuss all probable candidates. We have district and constituency-wise details and recent survey outcomes. Keeping all that in mind, we will have a detailed discussion with national leaders,” said Bommai.

BJP, which aims to come back to power again in the state, has set a target of winning at least 150 of the 224 seats even as no party has returned to power since 1989. Asked if the entire list will be announced in one go, Bommai told reporters that barring a few names, the rest may be announced after getting the board’s approval.

The list of candidates will be finalised at the parliamentary board meeting scheduled at 5pm on Sunday, he said. The names would be announced in one go by late Sunday evening or Monday morning