Faced with a rejuvenated Congress, fallout of GST and demonetisation and the anti-incumbency, the ruling BJP in Gujarat has tried to play safe in the first list of candidates that were declared from New Delhi on Friday.
Gujarat goes to polls in two phases on December 9 and 14.
The party that has followed, more or less, no repeat theory in most of the elections ever since Narendra Modi had taken over as chief minister in 2001, however retained 50 of its sitting MLAs in the list of 70 candidates that were declared. The BJP has also given tickets to five of the 12 leaders, who quit Congress and joined the party.
In the first phase on December 9, polling will be held on 89 seats. The first list includes candidates for both the first and second phase.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel and Gujarat BJP president Jitu Vaghani will contest from their respective seats of Rajkot (West), Mehsana and Bhavnagar (West).
Keeping in mind the ongoing Patidar agitation, the BJP has given tickets to 15 Patels in their first list. Patidars have been demanding reservation under the OBC category for over two years now. OBC candidates have also been given tickets.
The first list of candidates was not out before some hitches. Till late night on Thursday, Rupani, Patel and BJP national president Amit Shah had a meeting in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar.
Patel said that the candidates were finalized taking into consideration caste equations and region specific requirements. He denied that giving tickets to Patidars had anything to do with the Patidar agitation.
Notable names in the BJP list include promoted IPS officer P.C. Baranda, who resigned two days ago and joined the BJP. No minister has been dropped from the first list.
The last date for filing the nominations for the first phase of election is November 21.
The Congress is yet to come out with its list and top party leaders, including party president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi are meeting Gujarat Congress leaders in New Delhi. It is believed that the first list might be out on Saturday.
Sources said that party has not been able to decide on a few names in the Saurashtra region and wants to be cautious, fearing a rebellion if certain party men are not given tickets.
Congress leader Ahmed Patel also held talks with Alpesh Thakore, the Thakore leader who recently joined the Congress. He also held talks with members of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti. While PAAS has officially said that its members have gone to New Delhi to take the talks the further about reservation, sources said that PAAS has been demanding tickets for its members and supporters. Sources said that Thakore, too, is demanding a share.
