In preparation for the 2022 Gujarat Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday unveiled the first list of candidates for 160 of the 182 constituencies, with 14 women on it.
The BJP leaders announced this initial list for the bulk of the constituencies during a news conference held in Delhi, where the State’s Assembly elections are slated for December 1 and 5. There are 69 applicants who have already been on the list of 160, 14 women, 13 members of the scheduled caste, and 24 members of the scheduled tribe.
The BJP has also awarded Rivaba Jadeja, the cricketer Ravindra Jadeja’s wife, a ticket for the Jamnagar North Constituency.
As soon as it was revealed that the Gujarat Chief Minister will be running from the Ghatlodia district, there were celebrations in his Ahmedabad headquarters.
A ticket for the Talala constituency has also been handed to Bhagvanbhai Barad, the former Congress MLA who on Wednesday presented his resignation from all positions within the party and as an MLA to Speaker Nimaben Acharya.
Senior BJP figures like Vijay Rupani, Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, Nitin Patel, and Pradipsinh Jadeja announced on Wednesday night that they would not be running in the polls. They also informed higher officials in Delhi of their decision.
On the list of 160 people are Hardik Patel, a former functioning president of the Gujarat Congress who joined the BJP in June.
Other former Congress officials who switched over to the BJP include Pradyumansinh Jadeja, Ashvin Kotwal, and Jawahar Chavda (who served as a cabinet minister in Vijay Rupani’s ministry). These individuals received tickets from the Manavadar, Khedbrahma, and Abdasa constituencies, respectively.
“BJP decides which candidate will get a ticket from which constituency and I have been given the responsibility of Deesa. I am thankful to the party leaders for their trust in me and we will try to win all 9 seats from Banaskantha including Deesa.” Said Pravin Mali, who has been given a ticket for the first time from the Deesa Constituency.
BJP is in power in the state from the last 27 years and is considered as BJP bastion.
Gujarat has been the BJP bastion for decades and the party is seeking its seventh term in office.
The elections will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5. The counting of votes will occur on December 8, which coincides with Himachal Pradesh’s result date.
While Congress is seeking to oust the BJP, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is also making efforts to put up a strong performance in the polls.