AP: No place for BJP chief in first list

The BJP  released the first list of 123 candidates who will contest the elections for the 175-member Assembly, on Sunday. The second list, which will contain the names of the remaining candidates and the Lok Sabha nominees, will be released soon. The BJP, which had allied with the TD in the 2014 polls, has decided to contest independently for the April 11 elections. Party Assembly floor leader P. Vishnu Kumar Raju has been renominated from Vizag North.

The BJP had four legislators of whom Mr Akula Satyanrayana defected to the Jana Sena last month. Another MLA, Mr Kamineni Srinivas, has dropped out of contest. Former minister and MLA Pydikondala Manikyal Rao is awaiting renomination in the second list.

The BJP is facing a tough time in Andhra Pradesh, as their formal ally TD have been accusing the party of betraying the state by not according it special category status and for improper implementation of the AP Reorganization Act. AP BJP chief Kanna Lakshminarayana failed to find his name in the first list. It will be interesting to learn whether the party chooses to field him for the Assembly or for the Lok Sabha poll.

The BJP Central Election Committee met on Saturday under the chairmanship of party president Amit Shah. The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Rajnath Singh, finance minister Arun Jaitley, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, and other members of the Central Election Committee, said sources.