The BJP’s Central Election Committee on Thursday held a meeting in hybrid format at the party headquarters to finalize the party’s candidates for the upcoming seven- phase assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP national president J P Nadda, and other top members of the committee including Nitin Gadkari and Rajnath Singh took part in deliberations virtually. Other members of the committee were physically present at the BJP headquarters to take part in the meeting.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and several other party leaders and top leaders from Uttar Pradesh including Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were physically present at the party head office to take part in discussion.

The meeting came at a time when the party is grappling with internal turmoil and some of the senior party leaders and cabinet ministers having already quit the party and recently one of the prominent ministers in the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh resigning accusing BJP of being indifferent to the Dalits and backwards, among others.

The discussion primarily veered around finalizing candidates for the first and second phase of the elections. About names of 58 candidates for the first phase and 55 for the second phase for the elections scheduled for 10 and 14 February reportedly came up for discussion.

It was learnt that the BJP mulled over the possibility of dropping some of the sitting MLAs in Uttar Pradesh to offset the anti-incumbency factor in the ensuing elections in the State.

As part of its scheme of things, the BJP is also learnt to have been seriously pondering over fielding five-term Lok Sabha MP and chief minister Yogi Adityanath from Ayodhya instead of Gorakhpur.

Meanwhile, according to some reports reaching here from Uttar Pradesh indicated that the BJP had finalized its seat sharing arrangement with its old ally Apna Dal and Nishad Party for the coming assembly elections.

According to some reports, the BJP leadership unwilling to annoy its pre-poll partners have agreed to give Apna Dal about 10 to 14 seats and 14-17 seats to Nishad Dal. Some of the party candidates from these parties are likely to contest on the BJP symbol. An official announcement about seat sharing with the two parties is likely soon, sources said.