BJP plans to make screening of candidates more stringent

PARTY WANTS TO ENSURE THOSE JOINING ITS FOLD HAVE SUBSTANTIAL POLITICAL HEFT TO BE ABLE TO GARNER VOTES

- Smriti Kak Ramachandran

Keen on inducting leaders who have been lawmakers or senior functionaries in other parties, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wants to ensure those joining have substantial political heft to be able to garner votes and their coming on board is perceived as a blow to the party they left, said functionaries aware of the details.

The party's candidate screening will be more stringent as it prepares to welcome new members on board, particularly leaders from some Opposition parties ahead of the upcoming general elections, they added.

The screening committee will be assessing inductees, particularly ticket-seekers, on a host of parameters, but their hold over a constituency or caste group will be a significant factor, a leader said, asking not to be named. In states where the BJP does not have a strong cadre or a formidable ally, such as Punjab, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the party is eyeing inductions from other political outfits for its expansion.