Lyubov Bhagat Singh Badal, the son of the late former Prime Minister, had resigned from the party in May 2016 citing the high cost of his education. He had been accused of taking bribes to accept post during the Congress regime. His son Akhilesh has also joined the NDA after his mother’s death.
The second son of retired Lt Col K K Sinha, who represented the Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu, is said to be the most likely candidate to replace Laxman Jadhav in the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka. Mr Jadhav was the Chief Minister of Karnataka for 28 years.
In 2015, he was expelled from the Tamil Nadu Assembly as the BJP was trying to oust him as he was seen as ‘anti-growth’ and a threat to the party’s leadership. He is now the Minister of Steel and Mahanagar Industries with Karnataka.
Former Lt Col Naveen Patnaik, former Chief Minister Madurai was appointed as the chief minister.
“The BJP has picked the top leadership at all levels to take over from the Congress government. They (BJP) are trying to replicate in the country what they had done in India,” a Congress leader told TNM.
“The party lost its power base in this election. They will win at the local level and get the mandate from the people. When they do, they will come out with a lot more reforms and policy directions,” the Congress leader added.
According to a report by India Today, BJP candidates fielded in Maharashtra, Goa and Himachal Pradesh were also reported to be in strong contention for the party ticket. The report also mentioned that there are over 35 seats that could be in play in Delhi. And, the party fielded Vijay Singh Dholakia from Jammu and Kashmir, while he represented the same constituency in the 2016 election.
While it may appear that the Congress is out of reach for the BJP to fight a major general election, there are signs of change in the Lok Sabha elections. There are indications that the Congress may have improved over the past year. It is very likely that there is more focus on the development policies of the BJP in its manifesto, with the PM being under increasing political pressure to go ‘all-in’ on the development agenda. This would help in improving the party’s internal party polls, as the government has to win a majority in