Out of 80 BJP's allies to get 6 seats in Uttar Pradesh : Talks yet to begin for other key states including Bihar

The BJP is likely to leave six seats for its NDA allies in Uttar Pradesh, three in Assam and one in Jharkhand.

Reportedly the names of about 100 candidates have been finalised and the big announcement likely anytime.

 To work out seat-sharing formula for Bihar and Maharashtra, talks will be started soon. In Maharashtra, the BJP will have to do tightrope walk as it has to strike right balance two new partners Shiv Sena (Shinde) and NCP (Ajit Pawar) factions. 

In Uttar Pradesh, the Apna Dal (Soneylal) and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) may get to contest two seats each, while one seat is likely to be allocated to the NISHAD party and Om Prakash Rajbhar-led Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP).

In Bihar, talks on finalising the seat-sharing formula with JDU, Chirag Paswan's LJP (Ram Vilas), Pashupati Paras's LJP (Rashtriya), Upendra Kushwaha-led Rashtriya Lok Morcha and Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) are yet to be held.

The BJP may give two seats to Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and one seat for United People's Party Liberal (UPPL) in Assam, sources said.

In Jharkhand, the BJP is likely to leave one seat for its NDA ally All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU).

The party could contest elections on all 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana although it has an alliance partner in the northern state where farmers' issue may leave some impact. 

Besides top leaders including PM Narendra Modi, BJP chief J P Nadda and ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh, Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath, Gujarat - Bhupendra Patel, Madhya Pradesh's Mohan Yadav, Chhattisgarh's Vishnu Deo Sai, Uttarakhand's Pushkar Singh Dhami and Goa's Pramod Sawant, were among those who arrived for the late night meeting that lasted for four hours.

Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari also were invited. 

State leaders attend the CEC meeting when candidates for constituencies falling in their respective states are discussed.

In its mission to win 370 plus, the BJP is aiming not only retain some of the tough seats in UP, Gujarat and Rajasthan, they want to in fact improve performance in several states including West Bengal, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka.

The challenges are multiple.

There are 97 seats in four states - Tamil Nadu - 39, Kerala - 20, Andhra Pradesh - 25 and Punjab -13 ... where it was clean sweep for the Congress and allies such as AIADMK and AAP in 2019.

In other words out of 97 seats, the BJP had only one - actor Sunny Deol from Gurdaspur. 

Of course in Punjab, the Akali Dal - then an ally of the saffron party- had won two seats -- husband-wife duo of Badals.