Amid dissensions, BJP to take up contentious UP seats tomorrow

Facing dissensions among their senior leadership over ticket distribution, BJP will take up its contentious Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh at a meeting of its Central Election Committee here tomorrow.
BJP is likely to finalise over 100 seats when it takes up seats in crucial states of Bihar, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Kerala and Maharashtra.
The party has already declared a total of 203 candidates across the country for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
There is anxiety among the party's senior leaders like Murli Manohar Joshi, who is seeking clarity on his Varanasi seat, from where BJP Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi is seeking to contest.

In the earlier meeting of the Central Election Committee, Joshi is reported to have questioned the party leadership on the issue and sought to know why media reports were raising speculation on his seat.
Though Joshi has said he will abide by the party decision, sources said if Modi is selected for the seat Joshi may be asked to shift to Kanpur, where state party president Kalraj Mishra is keen to contest.
The BJP is also facing dissension for the Lucknow seat, where party leader Lalji Tandon may be asked to vacate to pave the way for BJP President Rajnath Singh, who is keen to contest from there after leaving his Gaziabad seat.

There is also speculation on whether senior BJP leader L K Advani may be asked to shift from Gandhinagar seat to Bhopal to pave the way for Modi.