Karnataka Assembly election 2023: BJP to release first list of 170-180 candidates today

Karnataka election 2023: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will today release the first list of 170-180 candidates for the Karnataka Assembly elections scheduled for May 10. According to the party's Parliamentary Board member B S Yediyurappa, the list will be released today evening.

Also Read: Karnataka Election 2023 - BJP's first list of candidates announced

Ahead of that, a meeting has been scheduled today to finalise the list. He said 170 to 180 names would be announced in the first list.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah along with party president JP Nadda held a meeting to deliberate on the names of probable candidates. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and other members of the Central Election Committee (CEC) were also part of the meeting. 

Bommai said that list of names would be announced after incorporating some "directions" given by the prime minister. 

BJP is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the party makes a comeback in the state. Senior party leaders have been holding talks for a couple of days to prepare a list of probable.

The BJP  has set a target of winning at least 150 of the 224 seats.

Earlier, the Election Commission of India announced the full schedule for the Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections on March 29. As per the schedule, the election will be held in a single phase on May 10 and the counting of votes will take place on May 13. 

The last date for filing nominations is April 20 and for withdrawal of candidatures is April 24.

It is to be noted that the term of the 224-member Karnataka Assembly ends on May 24. With the announcement of the poll dates, the Model Code of Conduct has already been in place.

In the current Assembly, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has 119 MLAs and the Opposition party Congress has 75, Janta Dal (Secular), an ally of the Congress in the state, has 28 seats.