UP BJP Chief Clarifies Candidate Selection Process for 2027 Elections

Uttar Pradesh BJP President Pankaj Chaudhary has denied reports claiming the party finalized 209 candidates for the 2027 Assembly polls, asserting that all selections follow a collective, established party process instead.

UP BJP Chief Clarifies Candidate Selection Process for 2027 Elections

Uttar Pradesh BJP President Pankaj Chaudhary on Sunday denied reports that the party had finalised the names of 209 candidates for the 2027 Assembly elections, saying he had not held any such meetings and that the BJP follows a collective decision-making process.

“I do not know the source of this news... As the State President of the Bharatiya Janata Party, I have not held any such meetings with anyone,” Chaudhary said, speaking to the reporters. Explaining the party's candidate selection process, he said, “Before a ticket is finalised, input and suggestions are gathered from the district and regional levels. These are then brought to the state level, where our Core Committee and Election Committee deliberate on them. The matter is subsequently forwarded to Delhi, where the Parliamentary Board makes the final decision—this is our established process.”

He said that he did not wish to comment on reports being circulated without any confirmation. “If someone circulates such news, I would prefer not to comment on it. The BJP has followed a consistent system for the past 50 years: decisions are made through an organisational framework, involving collective consultation and consensus,” he said. Chaudhary further said, “The BJP is not a family-run party where a single individual can make such decisions; rather, the process is entirely collective.”

Chaudhary also stressed that the BJP is an ideology-based party and said leaders who left the organisation had failed to sustain themselves politically. “It is on the strength of the BJP that I have reached this position... The BJP is an ideology-based party; our workers operate on the basis of these core ideas. If you move away from that ideology, you cannot survive. While other parties—such as the Congress—have seen splinter groups emerge, like the Trinamool Congress or the NCP, that managed to survive, no leader who has left the Bharatiya Janata Party has been able to sustain themselves,” he said.