New Delhi/IBNS: Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a midnight meeting on Thursday with his colleagues from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to finalise the party's first list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Modi finished the meeting, which began at 10:30 pm, and left the BJP headquarters at 3:30 am.

The meeting was attended by BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda and top Union Ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh.

Several BJP Chief Ministers- Uttar Pradesh's Yogi Adityanath, Gujarat's Bhupendra Patel, Madhya Pradesh's Mohan Yadav, Chhattisgarh's Vishnu Deo Sai, Uttarakhand's Pushkar Singh Dhami and Goa's Pramod Sawant- also attended the key meeting.

As per reports, several state BJP units have started sending suggestions of candidates to the central leadership.

Prime Minister Modi, who came to power in 2014, is seeking a straight third term in the Lok Sabha polls, which are expected to be held in April and May.

The Election Commission of India is yet to announce the polling dates.

Meanwhile, BJP received a new boost in Himachal Pradesh, where it won the lone Rajya Sabha seat despite not being in power, courtesy cross-voting by Congress MLAs.

Modi, who has been touring several states, will visit West Bengal for a two-day visit on Friday.

His visit to West Bengal comes amid massive criticism of Trinamool Congress government over the Sandeshkhali case where several women accused now arrested suspended local ruling party leader Sheikh Shahjahan was accused of land grabbing and sexual abuse by local women.