BJP plans early announcement of Lok Sabha candidates, aims for strategic advantage in key constituencies

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

BJP is likely to announce Lok Sabha candidates for several seats much ahead of the announcement of poll schedule for the next general elections. The party intends to get into full election mode from next week, beginning with a series of programmes.

BJP president JP Nadda is engaged in a two-day meeting of the national office bearers this weekend, where discussions on upcoming Lok Sabha polls is expected to figure.

It may be followed by an extended national council meeting in January, with district unit heads in attendance.

In recent assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, BJP had announced candidates for assembly seats in 'C category' — the ones which it had not won in last few assembly polls — and did fairly well in 2023, party insiders said. The party is likely to adopt a similar strategy for the Lok Sabha polls and candidates for such seats could be announced in the next 30-45 days.

BJP has already identified 160 seats and carried out a massive exercise to strengthen its position by deploying senior leaders and Union ministers.

A lot of 'weak seats' have been identified in south and east and BJP hopes early announcement of candidates would give them the first-mover advantage. However, it is not yet clear whether the party will announce candidates only in the 160 seats, a party insider said, adding most Union ministers and Rajya Sabha MPs were likely to be fielded in the Lok Sabha polls.

The 160 weak Lok Sabha seats include Rae Bareli, represented by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, and Mainpuri of Dimple Yadav.
BJP lost most of the seats in 2019.

Some seats it won also figure in the list. These are ones that the party believes have become a challenge due to local social and political factors.