Sitting BJP MLA Kesarisinh Solanki joins AAP

The BJP has received a setback in Gujarat ahead of the Assembly elections in the state as MLA Kesarisinh Solanki joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday.
Solanki, the sitting BJP MLA representing the Matar Assembly seat in Gujarat’s Kheda district, joined the Arvind Kejriwal-led party a day after the ruling party released the first list of candidates for the upcoming elections. Gujarat AAP President Gopal Italia was informed about the development.
“Kesarisinh Solanki ji, a popular, hardworking, and fearless MLA of the Matar Vidhan Sabha, has joined the Aam Aadmi Party today after getting inspired by the honest politics of Arvind Kejriwal. I heartily welcome Kesarisinh Ji to the Aam Aadmi Party. Together, we will form an honest government in Gujarat,” Italia said in a tweet late Thursday night.
The BJP has fielded Kalpesh Parmar in place of Solanki, who won the seat twice, in 2014 and 2017.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday announced the first list of candidates for 160 of the 182 constituencies, which includes 14 female candidates for the upcoming Gujarat Assembly elections.
With the assembly elections scheduled for December 1 and 5 in the state, the BJP leaders, in a press conference held in Delhi, announced this first list for the majority of the constituencies.
The list of 160 candidates includes 14 females, 13 from a scheduled caste, 24 from a scheduled tribe, and 69 candidates who have been repeated.
The ruling party has also given a ticket to former Congress leader Hardik Patel, who quit the party and joined the BJP, from the Viramgam constituency.
Other Congress leaders who joined the BJP from the Congress in the past like Jawahar Chavda (he was also the cabinet minister in Vijay Rupani’s ministry), Ashvin Kotwal, and Pradyumansinh Jadeja have been given tickets from Manavadar, Khedbrahma, and Abdasa constituencies, respectively.
Meanwhile, senior BJP leaders like Vijay Rupani, Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, Nitin Patel, and Pradipsinh Jadeja stated on Wednesday night that they do not want to contest the elections and have also conveyed the same to the higher authorities in Delhi.
The Gujarat Chief Minister will be contesting from the Ghatlodia constituency.
The BJP has ruled the state for the past 27 years and is regarded as its stronghold.
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 the Congress seeks to depose the BJP, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is also working hard to perform well in the polls.