PM Modi to chair Council of Ministers' meeting ahead of Lok Sabha polls

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to take charge of a crucial meeting of the Union Council of Ministers today in New Delhi, a strategic move preceding the anticipated Lok Sabha elections. This session gains significance as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) unveiled its inaugural list of candidates for the impending polls just a day earlier.

Scheduled to convene at the Sushma Swaraj Bhavan in Chanakyapuri, New Delhi, this assembly is likely to mark the Council's final rendezvous prior to the general elections projected to unfold in April-May this year.

At the heart of the deliberations lies an assessment of the incumbent government's performance, underscoring the BJP's concerted effort to spotlight the administration's accomplishments and developmental blueprints during its election campaign.

The BJP's announcement of its maiden roster of 195 Lok Sabha poll contenders on Saturday unveils a meticulously curated lineup. Amongst the prominent nominations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to contest from Varanasi for a third consecutive term, while Union Home Minister Amit Shah will seek reelection from his stronghold of Gandhinagar. Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, in turn, has thrown his hat into the ring from the electoral battlefield of Lucknow.

However, the list also bears the imprint of significant omissions. Notably, the absence of Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi and former Union Minister Harsh Vardhan from the roster raises eyebrows. Equally conspicuous is the exclusion of Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, a polarizing figure, from Bhopal's candidacy slate.

With 34 Union Ministers and two former Chief Ministers featuring in the roll call, the BJP's decision to drop 33 incumbent MPs across diverse states signals a calculated political maneuver. The party's aim appears to be a rejuvenation of its electoral arsenal, strategically recalibrated to navigate the impending electoral landscape.

Reflecting on the electoral arithmetic, the BJP's first list of candidates encompasses constituencies wherein the party secured a commanding victory in the 2019 polls, clinching 155 seats out of the 195 in contention. Riding on Prime Minister Modi's ambitious vision, the BJP has set an audacious target of securing a resounding mandate of at least 370 seats independently in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, with aspirations for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to surpass the 400-seat milestone.