Delay in selection of candidates worries BJP ticket aspirants

Sources in the party said since the CEC was busy finalising candidates for Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, the first list of candidates for Telangana was getting delayed.

Hyderabad: The inordinate delay in finalising the candidates is increasing anxiety among BJP ticket aspirants as elections to the State assembly is drawing close.
The BJP was planning to release the first list of 38 candidates on Monday, but since the BJP’s Central Election Committee (CEC) failed to meet on Sunday, the list might take more time.

Sources in the party said since the CEC was busy finalising candidates for Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, the first list of candidates for Telangana was getting delayed. With October almost coming to an end and the Election Commission getting ready to issue the poll gazette notification on November 3, the ticket aspirants are getting agitated as they would have little time to campaign.

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Sources in the party said the BJP leadership was delaying the candidate list as it was waiting for leaders from rival parties who failed to get tickets to join the BJP. The State leadership is expecting a lot of prominent leaders who were denied tickets to join the party sooner or later.

The first list of candidates is likely to come from constituencies where there is consensus regarding candidates or already decision about the candidates have been taken.
The BJP ticket aspirants are a worried lot as other parties have not only announced their candidate lists, but also started campaigning, whereas BJP has so far not even completed the process of selection of candidates. The BJP leaders are worried as the BRS was ahead in the campaign and it would be very difficult for the party to compete with it.

They claimed that a few public meetings by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, union Home Minister Amit Shah and other union ministers would not help the party as it is very weak in most of the constituencies. The aspirants believe that if the candidates are announced they could start campaigning in their respective constituencies. About 2,500 applications have been shortlisted by the State selection committee and forwarded to the CEC.