Kolkata, Oct. 22 -- Ahead of the civic body elections, BJP central observer Sunil Bansal is set to hold a crucial organisational meeting on Friday, which is likely to discuss and finalise candidates who will contest on the BJP ticket.
Sources said the state BJP will finalise its candidate list for the forthcoming municipal corporation elections, including the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and Howrah Municipal Corporation polls. Bansal is expected to take up the candidate list during Friday's meeting, which will also review the party's preparations for the civic polls.
The BJP may release its first list of candidates for the municipal elections within the next 10 to 15 days. Besides the municipal corporations, the party is also preparing for civic body elections across the state, likely to be held by the beginning of next year.
It was learnt that there could also be an organisational reshuffle in around 10 districts, including the Kolkata organisational district.
When Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari visited the Kolkata Municipal Corporation for the first time, several TMC councillors, including Jui Biswas, Ananya Bandyopadhyay, Debashis Kumar and Kajari Banerjee, were present at the meeting. There is speculation that some of them could find a place on the BJP's candidate list. Sources said several former TMC councillors are keen to contest the civic polls.
The BJP is reportedly giving serious consideration to their interest, taking into account their experience in municipal administration. State BJP president Samik Bhattacharya, however, has dismissed speculation about TMC leaders joining the BJP.
Sources said the party leadership does not want resentment within the organisation over the selection of civic poll candidates. The candidates, therefore, will not be decided by any single leader. Names will be proposed from the grassroots and subsequently vetted by the district election core committee and the state-level committee.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.