Pune: As political parties ramp up their preparations for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections, a significant focus is on the selection of candidates.
While the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) under Sharad Pawar have already sought applications from interested candidates, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has opted for a different approach.
Unlike Congress and NCP, which invited applications from potential candidates across the state, the BJP has initiated an internal process to gauge the preferences of its local office bearers and workers.
This candidate selection process will culminate in a voting event scheduled for October 1st in Pune, where central observers will oversee the proceedings.
In recent weeks, Congress invited applications for all 288 constituencies in Maharashtra, while NCP received around 1,350 applications from aspirants statewide.
These applications are crucial for parties, as they help identify potential candidates for election tickets. However, the BJP has chosen a more decentralized and consultative approach for selecting its nominees.
The BJP’s central observers have arrived in Pune to consult with the party's local office bearers and workers.
These discussions are meant to understand the preferences of the party’s rank-and-file regarding candidates who will contest the Assembly elections.
On October 1st, a voting process will take place, allowing 60 to 70 key individuals from each constituency, including office bearers at various levels (central, state, city, and assembly), to cast their votes for their three preferred candidates.
The process is designed to ensure that the party’s decision reflects the grassroots' preferences, making the candidate selection more democratic and transparent.
Once the voting is complete, the observers will compile a list of the top three preferred candidates from each constituency and forward these names to the state BJP leadership. The state leadership will then send the final list to the central leadership for approval.
According to BJP sources, the final decision will be based not only on the voting results but also on surveys conducted by the party. The candidate deemed most likely to win will receive the ticket to contest in the Assembly elections.
