New Delhi, March 10 (IANS): The BJP Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting at the party headquarters here started on Tuesday evening to decide on the candidatures for the upcoming Rajya Sabha election scheduled on March 26.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived a little after 6 p.m. and was welcomed by BJP President J.P. Nadda. Union Home Minister Amit Shah had reached the BJP office before that. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari too are in attendance.

Interestingly, the BJP CEC meeeting is taking place on a day when Jyotiraditya Scindia announced to step down from the Congress, ending his 18-year long association with the party, soon after meeting Prime Minister Modi in the national capital along with Shah. The latest development has plunged the Kamal Nath-led 15-month old Congress government in Madhya Pradesh into a deep crisis.

Scindia is tipped to join the saffron party later in the evening in the presence of Shah.

In the 245-member Upper House, members from 17 states are set to retire. The BJP has only 82 members in the Rajya Sabha, well short of the 120 required for a simple majority. Though the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has 97 seats.

Attaining the magic figures of 120 may not only be unpragmatic, but also highly ambitious for the BJP. But it definitely wants to better its tally from the current 82.