Shillong, Jan 9: Despite political posturing that the party will form the next government and that it would get absolute majority in the upcoming assembly polls, the state BJP on Monday invited ‘applications from aspiring candidates’ for the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.

The latest development comes as a surprise to many since the impression the party was giving was that of having sufficient candidates in its fold, including the sitting MLAs. In the past 1-2 months, BJP had slew of joinings be it MLAs or MDCs to former public representatives. However, it also suffered desertions by many of its senior and established leaders. The common reason was the lack of respect and non-issuance of tickets to them.

A notification issued by BJP state president Ernest Mawrie on Monday said that applications for candidature to the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly election, 2023 will be accepted from January 9 to 15. Applications should reach the State Party Office in plain paper accompanied with full bio-data of the applicant, it said.