NEW DELHI: The BJP Central Election Committee (CEC) on Sunday met to discuss candidates for the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as one of its members in attendance. The meeting went on for four hours at the party headquarters.The polls for the 90-member J&K assembly are taking place on September 18, 23 and October 1 for the first time after the abrogation of Article 370.Chairing the meeting, PM Narendra Modi, who is the party’s prime poll mascot, reportedly emphasised winnability as one of the key factors for considering candidature.The CEC members, which include JP Nadda, Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and others, deliberated on the candidatures of nearly 50-55 candidates in detail, focusing on strong local connection, fair political backgrounds and high winnability index across the valley and in plains of J&K.Sources said the meeting took up the evaluation of potential candidates. Though, no official word was available till late evening, sources indicated that BJP was aiming to maximise representation from local youths and women, a factor that aligns with PM Modi’s emphasis on empowering these sections. The first list of candidates for J&K-90 member assembly is expected to be announced in the next few days, possibly as early as Monday.
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