BJP likely to announce first list of candidates for Haryana polls today; Sandeep Singh, Babita Phogat may get tickets

New Delhi: The BJP may announce on Sunday its first list of candidates for the Haryana assembly polls as the party’s central election committee is set to meet later in the day. Former Indian Hockey team captain Sandeep Singh, Olympic wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt and women wrestler Babita Phogat, who recently joined the BJP, are likely to be fielded by the party in the elections, sources said. [caption id=“attachment_6957101” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Besides Haryana, the names of candidates for the Maharashtra elections are also likely to be finalised in the BJP central election committee meeting which will be held today, they said. However, the BJP is yet to reach an agreement on seat distribution with its ally Shiv Sena. In the previous assembly, both the BJP and the Shiv Sena had contested separately. But after the results, both the parties formed an alliance to form the government in Maharashtra. In the 288-member assembly, BJP had won the 122 seats followed by Shiv Sena with 63 seats. But for the Lok Sabha elections held in May, both parties forged an alliance. Assembly elections in both Haryana and Maharashtra are scheduled to be held on 21 October and the results will be announced on 24 October.