BJP Finalises 172 Candidates for Uttar Pradesh Polls, CM Yogi Likely To Contest

File image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/Jitendra Lal)

The BJP's Central Election Committee (CEC) met on Thursday, 13 January, and finalised its candidates for 172 seats in the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

"In BJP's Central Election Committee meeting today, a very fruitful discussion was held regarding candidates on 172 Assembly seats (in Uttar Pradesh). We are hopeful of registering a glorious victory in the 2022 Assembly elections," UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

The party is likely to field both Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Deputy CM Maurya as candidates, news agency PTI reported.

The meeting took place in a hybrid form at the party's Delhi headquarters, with BJP chief JP Nadda, Rajnath Singh, and Nitin Gadkari, who have tested positive for COVID-19, attending the meeting virtually.

The ones physically present at the headquarters included Home Minister Amit Shah and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly joined the meeting virtually.

The agenda of Thursday's meeting was to finalise the candidates for the first two phases of UP Assembly election.

"In the last two days, in the marathon meetings lasting over 10 hours, names have been shortlisted for most of the seats. Once the CEC finalises the names, the BJP will announce the candidates," a source told news agency IANS.

As per a report by NDTV, one of the most significant decisions to be made today included the candidature of Yogi Adityanath, who has never contested assembly polls before.