NEW DELHI: While the Election Commission of India is yet to announce the dates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the BJP has already started its preparations. The party is planning to coordinate campaign programs by announcing candidates in important constituencies before the Election Commission announces the date. Party sources are indicating that the candidates may be announced after Makar Sankranti on the 15th of this month.

Rajya Sabha MPs, including Union Ministers, will contest from different states this time. The BJP will use the same tactics it used in the assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh in the Lok Sabha elections this time. The party will face the election by projecting Prime Minister Narendra Modi as its face.

The party will field new faces to counter the sentiment against sitting MPs. Those who have been MPs more than twice and those who have not performed well are likely to be kept aside in this election. The names of Union Ministers and Rajya Sabha members Nirmala Sitharaman, Hardeep Singh Puri, S Jaishankar and V Muraleedharan are on the list of possible candidates. Youngsters and women will be given more representation in the elections.

The leadership reckons that women and youth supported the party in the recent assembly elections held in various states. The leadership also believes that the various welfare schemes implemented for women have brought women voters closer to the party

Unexpected move in Tamil Nadu
BJP is planning to make an unexpected move for the elections in Tamil Nadu this time. Sources close to the party are indicating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may contest from a constituency in Tamil Nadu apart from Varanasi. According to sources, Modi might contest either from Ramanathapuram, which includes Rameshwaram, or Kanyakumari, which shares a border with Kerala. It is estimated that this move will influence the elections in Kerala as well.

It is believed that the BJP will benefit if Modi contests from a constituency in South India. In the 2014 elections, Narendra Modi had contested from both Varanasi and Vadodara. However, in the 2019 elections, he contested only from Varanasi.