The Bharatiya Janata Party will hold a meeting of its Central Election Committee (CEC) on Wednesday evening in a bid to finalise the first list of candidates for the upcoming Gujarat Assembly polls.

This meeting will take place in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP national president JP Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and BJP state president CR Patil and other members of the CEC and the state unit. The meeting is scheduled at the party headquarters in Delhi.

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“An initial round of the meeting has taken place at the state headquarters in Gandhinagar over three days during which a shortlist of candidates has already been prepared which will be brought for consideration and finalisation to the CEC,” a source told ANI.

“Ahead of the meeting of the CEC, the BJP Gujarat core group will also have a separate meeting with JP Nadda and Amit Shah,” another source told ANI.

Another source told ANI, “Since all the central and state leadership may be present during this meeting. It is also likely that a separate discussion will take place with the top brass on planning the campaigning for the upcoming polls especially with PM Narendra Modi having instructed them to target the highest poll numbers ever.”

Gujarat has been a BJP bastion for decades together. BJP is seeking its sixth term in office.

Before becoming the Prime Minister Narendra Modi was Gujarat’s longest serving Chief Minister from 2001 to 2014.

On November 3, the election commission of India announced the election dates for Gujarat.

Polling will take place on two dates in two phases on December 1 and December 5 respectively.

In the first phase, polling will be held for 89 seats while the second phase will see voting for 93 seats. The term of the 182-member state Assembly ends on February 18, 2023.

The state of Gujarat has seen a traditional face-off between the ruling BJP and its traditional rival Congress party. However in the upcoming elections a new entrant, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), is being keenly watched in the poll fray.