Gujarat polls: CM Bhupendra Patel to contest from Ghatlodia constituency

NEW DELHI: The BJP on Thursday announced its first list of 160 candidates for the Gujarat Assembly elections. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel will contest the elections from the Ghatlodia constituency.

Addressing a joint press conference, Union Ministers Mansukh Mandviya, Bhupender Yadav and state BJP chief C R Paatil announced the names of the candidates. Cricketer Ravindra Jadeja wife Rivaba Jadeja got a ticket and she will contest from the Jamnagar North constituency.

The party has fielded former MLA Kantilal Amratiya from Morbi, which recently witnessed a major tragedy where about 135 people died after a cable suspension bridge collapsed. Kantilal Amratiya had reportedly saved some lives himself by swimming in the river. The seat was held by Congress turncoat Brijesh Merja, an incumbent minister.

Former Congress leader Hardik Patel, who quit the party and joined the BJP, will contest the elections from the Viramgam constituency Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi will contest elections from Majura constituency.

The BJP held the Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting on the Gujarat Assembly election at the party’s headquarters on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi where national president J P Nadda, Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav, former Karnataka CM B S Yediyurappa and others participated.

Soon after the meeting former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani and three other leaders of the ruling BJP announced that they will not contest the upcoming assembly elections of the state to make way for the new faces. Rupani was chief minister of Gujarat from August 2016 to September 2021. Currently, he is an MLA from Rajkot West.

Gujarat has been the BJP bastion for decades and the party is seeking its seventh term in office. Polling will take place in Gujarat on December 1 and December 5. 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. (ANI)