He said as many as 650 aspirants have submitted their detailed profiles for the party’s consideration for tickets.

Rupani was addressing the media at the end of the three-day long meeting of the state BJP Parliamentary Board at Umiya Farm near Ahmedabad on Tuesday. He said the party’s Parliamentary Board heard more than 8,000 party workers, elected members and office-bearers during these three days.

At the end of various representations, the party Parliamentary Board, chaired by state BJP president Purshottam Rupala in the presence of Chief Minister Narendra Modi, decided to shortlist the number of aspirants to nearly 100.

Rupala said the names of the short-listed aspirants would be taken to the party’s central leadership at New Delhi in a week for the final list of 25 candidates. He said the name of L K Advani, whom the party wants to project as the “Prime Minister from Gujarat” has already been cleared.

He said priority will be given to those candidates who are young, have a clean image and are able to win. Asked about fielding women candidates, he said “We will field more women candidates than the Congress.”

Rupala said no decision has been taken about the candidates to be repeated, at the three-day deliberations. The sitting ministers will be considered in view of their ability to effectively project injustices done to Gujarat in the recent years at the hands of UPA Government at the Centre, he said.

Rupani said the decision regarding fielding film and stage actor Paresh Raval and television actress Smriti Irani in Gujarat will be taken at Delhi. He admitted the party was weak in Anand, Kheda, Dahod, Chhota Udepur and Navsari constituencies after the delimitation exercise.

“But the Congress is not going to benefit much from delimitation,” he said.

He said party members Babu Katara and Somabhai Gandabhai Patel might join the Congress but it will not hurt the party’s prospects in the poll.