Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls: BJP CEC meet likely on Tuesday to finalise candidates

By Aashique Hussain
New Delhi [India], October 16 : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to hold a meeting of the Central Election Committee (CEC) to finalise the candidates for the upcoming Himachal Pradesh Assembly election, as per sources.
The party can also release the first list of its candidates for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections anytime in the new few days.
A meeting of Himachal Pradesh's core group has been called to be conducted in the national capital on Monday which will be attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, party president JP Nadda, organization minister BL Santosh, state Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and the leaders of the state core group.
The party has "almost concluded" its preparations for contesting the elections in Himachal Pradesh for yet-another time this year. Amit Shah on Saturday launched the party's campaign song for the assembly election 'Himachal Ki Pukaar Phir BJP Sarkar' at a public rally in Himachal Pradesh's Sirmour.
This CEC meeting is expected to give a final list of the candidates for assembly elections in the state, after the necessary consultation with the party's senior leaders.
Addressing the rally, Shah said, "Himachal Pradesh is going to set a new custom, 'ek baar BJP, baar baar BJP'. In Uttarakhand, Congressmen used to talk about the change of rule in alternative terms. But such customs were not followed and the BJP government was formed with a two-thirds majority."
He also congratulated the Hati community of Himachal for getting the ST status by saying that Prime Minister Narendra Modi ended the community's struggle of 55 years for the status of 'Tribal' as he understands their pain and proudly said "Himachal is mine" as he (PM Modi) has an attachment with the people of this state.
He expressed confidence that the BJP will return to power with a two-thirds majority in Himachal Pradesh.
The last date for filing the nomination for candidature in Himachal Pradesh assembly polls is October 25 and for the elections that will take place on November 12 for the next government in the state. The results of these elections will be declared on December 8, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Friday.
The term of the Himachal House will end on January 8, 2023.
Himachal Pradesh voted to elect its legislative assembly on November 9, 2017. In the 68-member Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) defeated the Congress Party and won 44 seats while Congress secured only 21 seats in 2017.