Dehradun, March 13: Declaring winnability as the sole criteria for getting party tickets in the forthcoming polls, Union Social Justice Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot here on Wednesday said the BJP's ticket distribution process for the first and second phases of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections is likely to be completed by March 18. "The BJP's central election committee will meet for two days on March 16 and March 18 in New Delhi to declare the candidates for the first phase and second phase," said Gehlot, who is also a member of the committee.

The BJP central election committee is headed by party President Amit Shah, he said. When asked whether new faces will also be fielded in the elections, he said winnability is the sole criteria for getting party tickets to contest the elections. He said the work on the preparation of the party's election manifesto or "Sankalp Patra" will also be completed in 15-20 days. For preparing the Sankalp Patra, the BJP would take the opinion of over 10 crore people by using 350 vehicles in the country. "Till yesterday, most of this work was nearing completion," he said. Lok Sabha Elections 2019: BJP Brings Major Reforms to Its Ticket Distribution Criteria.

He claimed that different surveys have predicted a positive outcome for the BJP in the elections. "We will be able to win more than 350 seats this time," he said. Gehlot also claimed that most of the promises made in the 2014 Sankalp Patra have also been fulfilled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. When pointed out that the Ram temple has not been built, he said: "The work for the temple has already begun."

He said the security forces have already destroyed terrorists' hideouts. "People are saying that had Modi come to power in 1947, the country would have become a 'vishwa guru and a golden sparrow'."

Referring to Priyanka Gandhi's statement made on Tuesday, Gehlot said: "The whole family is on bail and is facing corruption charges. "The present Congress party does not belong to Mahatma Gandhi anymore. This party is now fully made of Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 13, 2019 07:52 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).