Ticket distribution for Delhi polls to be 'fully democratic', winnability key criterion:BJP

The Delhi BJP has adopted a "fully democratic" process of ticket distribution for the upcoming assembly polls, allowing all eligible party leaders and workers to apply, its chief Manoj Tiwari said.

He, however, made clear that winnability will be the prime criterion in ticket distribution.

"The BJP ticket distribution will be fully democratic and we will allow all party persons to apply for it " Tiwari told PTI.

Earlier, there were reports that the party this time may not consider its municipal councillors and those leaders who lost back to back assembly elections in 2013 and 2015.

The polls for the 70-seat Delhi Assembly are likely to be announced soon.

In the 2015 Assembly polls, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party won 67 seats while the BJP managed to get just three.

"While ensuring that the ticket distribution process is democratic, emphasis will be on winnability factor," Tiwari said. Other factors which will be considered are popularity and "clean image", he said.

"There is a long list of ticket seekers but those having reach within a constituency and a clean track record will be natural choices," Tiwari asserted.

A senior BJP leader claimed that the central party leadership is conducting a set of three surveys to shortlist names of probable candidates for the upcoming polls.

These surveys will determine who will get the ticket among the applicants, he said.

In a previous exercise, the Delhi unit of the saffron party had sought recommendations from district units of names of probables in various assembly segments, yielding on an average four-five names per seat.

The party has swung into action mode for the crucial Delhi polls and formed 35 panels for various election-related works.

The top party leadership is keenly focusing on the polls in the national capital in the backdrop of electoral reverses in Jharkhand and Maharashtra, according to a senior Delhi BJP leader.

The party, which is out of power in Delhi for more than two decades, has an uphill task to upstage the ruling AAP, which has asserted to cross its previous tally of 67 seats this time on the strength of the Arvind Kejriwal government's performance.