BJP likely to replace 3 dozen MPs in UP

New Delhi, Feb 21 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to repeat its Gujarat model in Uttar Pradesh for the coming Lok Sabha elections by replacing a number of sitting MPs with new faces.

Party sources said the party could deny tickets to over 30 sitting MPs in Uttar Pradesh on the grounds of performance.

They said that discussions on fielding new candidates in the Lok Sabha elections were held at the residence of party President Amit Shah on Wednesday night. The meeting was also attended by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, his deputy Dinesh Sharma and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. The meeting lasted for over two-and-half hours.

The BJP leadership had dropped enough indications earlier about denying tickets to MPs who were perceived to have been unable to perform. The party would like to try new faces to beat incumbency. The new faces could include MLAs and ministers in the state.

The BJP had earlier followed the same trend in Gujarat where it replaced its sitting MLAs with new faces in the Assembly polls.

Last year, the BJP had released the report cards of its ministers and MPs. Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya was tasked to prepare the report card of the party MPs in the state.

The sources said the leaders also discussed the party's preparedness in the state ahead of the parliamentary polls.

Uttar Pradesh sends a maximum of 80 MPs to Parliament. In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had won 71 and its ally Apna Dal two in the state.