Ahead of the assembly elections in Gujarat, over 4,000 aspirants have sought tickets from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to contest the polls, scheduled for December 1 and 5.
The leaders of the ruling saffron party are engaged in deliberations to finalise 182 candidates. On Thursday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, also a member of BJP’s Parliamentary Board, chaired a meeting of the state BJP Parliamentary Board to examine the names.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Gujarat BJP President CR Patil, and Gujarat BJP In-Charge Sudhir Gupta were also present at the meeting.
“The meeting will continue for another two days, on November 3 and 5. Party leaders are putting forward their opinion, following which a final decision will be taken by the party's parliamentary board. There are multiple aspirants for each seat,” said Gujarat BJP Spokesperson Yamal Vyas.
Sources said the first list of candidates is expected by November 10. “At least 25 incumbent MLAs will get dropped this time. Of these, six MLAs have said that they did not want to contest the elections,” sources said.
During the discussions, senior leaders are also focusing on young leaders. Hardik Patel, who spearheaded the Patidar agitation in Gujarat, has a fair chance of getting a ticket. His candidature has been supported by various state leaders.
Earlier, BJP observers travelled to 33 districts of Gujarat on October 27, 28 and 29. The party had appointed three observers per district. They met aspirants and noted their views. The observers also met local leaders in these districts for their feedback.
Besides the observers, national and state leaders, MPs and former ministers had also fanned out across the state. Their reports were submitted to the state unit, based on which the discussions are taking place now, said a party leader.
This year, Gujarat is going to witness a three-cornered fight between the BJP, the Congress, and the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
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