Popularity among the public, on-the-ground work done by the candidates, winnability, and instilling young blood are some of the key factors that were under consideration before the BJP arrived at its list of candidates for the upcoming Gujarat Assembly polls.
A total of 160 names out of 182 were declared in the first list released on Thursday at the party headquarters in Delhi. There was a clear attempt to include younger candidates as compared to the 2017 assembly elections. 11 candidates out of the 160 declared by the BJP are under the age of 40, whereas 53 candidates declared by the BJP in the list so far are under the age of 50.
“The average age of the candidates, which earlier in 2017 was at 60 years, has now been brought down to the 50s,” a source told the press, saying what wasn’t possible in 2017 is now happening in 2022.
Senior party leaders among former ministers, including former chief minister Vijay Rupani and former Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, were among those who didn’t find their names on the list as they had already written to the party leadership expressing their desires not to contest the upcoming polls.
For the first time, Gujarat is all set to witness a three-way contest, with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) being the much-talked-about entrant.
“People would understand that the AAP has put in quite a bit of effort to balance the caste equations and also focus on young faces. The BJP has been the ruling party in Gujarat for the longest time. People have seen and voted for the same faces for years. It is thereby important to cut off any anti-incumbency, if any, and for the party to instil young blood. “And look at Gujarat 10 years down the line,” a BJP functionary told the press.
“This is a party where an ordinary party worker with a humble background went on to become the prime minister of the country, and the message that needs to go to the youth is very simple. If they work hard and bring in new energy, they will be rewarded with a chance to prove themselves,” another BJP leader said.
A lot of the ticket selection had an imprint of the central leadership, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are the biggest representatives from the state.
“There were close to 30 seats that the BJP won in the last election with a narrow margin, and they can have a crucial impact on the upcoming polls.” On the list that the state leadership brought to Delhi for the Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting on a couple of seats, the name of the most winnable candidate wasn’t present. “The central leadership immediately pointed it out and made sure that these names were included,” a source told the media.
As many as 17 turncoats, including Hardik Patel and Alpesh Thakor, have been fielded, keeping in mind their caste equation and winnable positions.
“Hardik Patel has been fielded from his hometown of Viramgam and Alpesh Thakore from Gandhinagar. We saw that the two were active and that Thakor won by a huge margin. If they are in our party and in a position to get a win for us, why would they be made to sit out?” A senior leader told the press.
The BJP’s presence on the ground and public popularity were also important factors in its decision to award tickets in the upcoming assembly elections.Urban seats have been highly critical to the party’s fortunes. There has been a conscious effort to rebuild the image of leadership in urban areas.
“Candidates from Gandhinagar, Wadhawan, and Vejalpur were changed because of their growing unpopularity,” a party source said.
