New Delhi : The BJP’s new central election committee, with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as a member, will meet for the first time on Friday to clear the first list of 140 candidates for the Karnataka polls.

The names of a majority of sitting legislators and those of candidates in constituencies where there are no multiple contenders are likely to be cleared.

The 19-member team, headed by BJP president Rajnath Singh, will meet at the party’s headquarters on Ashoka Road at 5 pm. However, party sources said it was not confirmed whether Modi, who is scheduled to address FICCI members in the City, turns up at the meeting or not.

Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar and State BJP president Pralhad Joshi will take part in the meeting. Though there is demand from the State party leaders that Modi should address rallies in Karnataka to check BJP’s declining political fortunes in the State, a decision has not been taken, said party sources.

Due to the infighting among leaders and corruption during the BJP rule, the party’s only bastion in the South is set to fall, say insiders. In such a scenario, it is not clear whether Modi will canvass for the party candidates as a negative result in the elections will cloud the charisma of the Gujarat chief minister.

Other important leaders on the election panel are L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Nitin Gadkari, M M Joshi, Venkaiah Naidu, Shahnawaz Hussain and Ananth Kumar. With several sitting MLAs deserting the party and joining the Karnataka Janata Party (KJP), the party top brass is likely to discuss about how to control the damage.

The party wants to minimise the damage by giving more tickets to Lingayats and backward classes. It wants to select party loyalists with clean image, a senior leader said.

The party’s State unit had decided not to give tickets to tainted candidates, but the final decision will be taken by the top brass, based on the winnability of candidates. Three legislators – Y Sampangi, Katta Subramanya Naidu and Krishnaiah Setty – have been sent to jail by the Lokayukta court. Private complaints have been lodged against at least eight others in various courts.