With a view to reaching a consensus on issues related to the process to be followed for selection of candidates, the core group of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — including the senior functionaries of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Haryana election management committee of the BJP headed by Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan — on Wednesday night held a crucial meeting to finalise panels of probables to pick candidates for all the 90 assembly segments of Haryana.If all goes as per the core group plans, the BJP may come out with the first list of candidates on Thursday or latest by Saturday, sources said.
Once the two groups form the joint panels after comparing the lists of probables finalised by BJP party as well RSS teams, the same will be forwarded to Central Parliamentary Board of the BJP for final consideration to be held on Thursday or Friday.
Sources said that ahead of the parliamentary board having a look at it, the panels may route it through Union home minister Amit Shah, who is directly monitoring the elections process for the party. The meeting was held at the residence of Pradhan and among those present included Biplab Deb, Haryana CM Nayab Saini, state BJP president Mohan Lal Badoli, BJP Haryana incharge Satish Punia, Haryana BJP organisation secretary Phanindranath Sharma and a few senior functionaries of the RSS linked to the state assembly elections monitoring. Based on the ground report, which suggested unrest among the BJP and RSS workers who alleged being ignored by sitting MLAs and the official machinery during the past five years, the RSS in its first meeting held in Faridabad last week had recommended dropping majority of MLAs, including some of the ministers from the list of probables. Besides this, sources said, it was highlighted in a survey report that there was resentment among the ranks and cadres against the BJP govt over accommodating outsiders to certain political appointments. The RSS functionaries had made this clear to BJP leaders during their first joint meeting.
This was consequent to the high command’s decision of giving the RSS centrestage for planning the campaigns.
This had apparently not gone down well with Haryana BJP leaders, who had raised the issue through election incharge Pradhan and Biplab Deb last week.
