New Delhi, Oct 15 (PTI) The BJP is considering "early declaration" of its candidates for the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls to get a headstart over its rivals AAP and Congress, a party leader said on Tuesday.

The suggestion to announce early the list of party candidates for the assembly polls due in February was also discussed in the recent 'Chintan Baithak' (brainstorming session) of Delhi BJP's extended core committee held in Rajasthan's Ranthambore, said a former state party chief.

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"The issue of candidate selection and announcement of names of candidates was raised by some leaders, including a party MP. It was contended that early announcement of tickets will benefit the party in campaigning," he said.

BJP's national leadership is aware of the demand of some senior Delhi BJP leaders for early declaration of tickets as the two-day session in Ranthambore was also attended by the party's national general secretary B L Santhosh, he added.

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The demand for announcing candidates sooner than later picked up momentum as the BJP on Tuesday appointed its national vice-president Baijayant Jay Panda as the in-charge for the Delhi Assembly polls. Ghaziabad BJP MP Atul Garg will be the co-incharge.

"This time, the BJP has good chances of staging a comeback to power in Delhi after a long time. An early declaration of tickets will boost the momentum built on an aggressive campaign against Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP on corruption and governance failure issues," said another senior Delhi BJP leader.

A final call on the time of candidate announcement is to be made by the national leadership, he said, adding that the BJP has not been in power in the capital since 1998 and is making strong efforts to inflict a political defeat on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

The saffron party was routed by the AAP back to back in 2015 and 2020 Delhi Assembly polls as it managed to win just three and eight seats respectively.

Even as a section of Delhi BJP leaders are keen on the early announcement of tickets, there is another lot which believes the move could bring "more trouble" than benefit to the party.

A Delhi BJP leader opposing this idea said, "It could lead to resentment among a vast section of experienced workers and leaders denied tickets, much before the elections and thus harming the party. Also, more time available to candidates will mean longer campaigns and requirement of resources."

Incidentally, the ruling AAP and its national convener Arvind Kejriwal have challenged the BJP for an early election in Delhi to prove if they have support of the people.

While announcing his decision to step down as Delhi chief minister on September 15, Kejriwal had floated the idea of holding Delhi Assembly polls alongwith Jharkhand and Maharashtra.

Some Delhi BJP leaders said the tickets for Lok Sabha polls earlier this year in Delhi were announced two weeks before the poll dates were declared.

This proved beneficial for the party as the candidates got enough time to campaign and all seven of them won despite an alliance between the AAP and the Congress, they pointed out.

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