NEW DELHI: BJP has released the list of 62 candidates and Congress 46 candidates for the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections. AAP had earlier announced the list of four candidates and will soon announce the full candidate list.

BJP has denied seats to 11 sitting MLAs and has swapped constituencies of two ministers. Two Congress MLAs who left the party and joined the BJP were also made candidates.

There are five women candidates in the BJP list. But former chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal was excluded. The candidates for the remaining 6 seats may be announced soon. Himachal Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur will contest from Seraj. He submitted his nomination papers yesterday.

The Central Election Committee meeting chaired by BJP National President JP Nadda has finalized the candidate list after a long discussion. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, National General Secretary BL Santosh, Union Ministers Bhupendra Yadav, Sarbananda Sonowal, B.S. Yeddiyurappa and Devendra Fadnavis attended the meeting.

The Congress also released the list of 46 candidates the other day. Former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh's son Vikramaditya Singh will contest from Shimla Rural. Congress also gave seats to 19 sitting MLAs.