At a party meeting, some Rajya Sabha MPs retiring this year were asked to suggest at least two LS seats each from where they could be comfortable to contest the elections.“If this happens, two ministers of the Modi cabinet, both considered close to the PM, could be fielded from Banglore South and Central LS seats. They are Nirmala Sitharaman (Banglore South) and Rajiv Chandrashekhar (Bangalore Central),” said a BJP leader. These LS seats have a higher percentage of educated voters, among whom these two leaders are popular. The leader said that sitting MP from Bangalore, Tejasvi Surya, may test his electoral fate from another seat, leaving Banglore South for Nirmala Sitharaman.Though, Ashwini Vaishnaw rejected the speculation, sources said that he may certainly be fielded either from Balasore in Odisha or any Brahmin-dominated LS seat in Rajasthan, which is Vaishnaw’s home state. In Odisha, he had served as an IAS officer.It is also said that Bhupender Yadav is likely to be a candidate from a seat in Haryana while V Muraleedharan from Kerala’s Attingal LS seat and Dharmendra Pradhan from any Odisha LS seat. The BJP may also allot 25 per cent of the total 543 LS seats to new faces.
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