Political scene in Gujarat is beginning to hot up with the Congress holding a meeting on Monday of ticket aspirants and the ruling BJP planning a similar meeting in near future.
Assembly elections are expected to be held towards the end of the year.
The meeting held in Ahmedabad was also attended by top state Congress leaders and party's in-charge for Gujarat Gurudas Kamat. Besides party MLAs, the meeting also witnessed young ticket aspirants putting up their cases before the leaders and media.
About 1,500 Congress party workers were in attendance in the meeting that prominently displayed the banner “Navsarjan Congress” (Congress rejuvenation).
The Congress has been out of power in Gujarat for more than two decades.
Meanwhile, opposition leader in the state assembly Shankersinh Vaghela fired a salvo. Addressing the gathering, he said that he withdrew himself from the race of chief minister. According to him, it is a matter to be considered after Congress gets majority.
Vaghela later said that he was doing so to avoid race for chief minister among the party leaders.
State BJP president Jitubhai Vaghani strongly reacted to Vaghela's statement and said that it would not be Congress' rejuvenation but it would be “Congress' immersion”.
According to reports emerging from the state BJP, a meeting of ticket aspirants in the party will be organised soon.
As the politics heats up, a poster of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah was seen blackened in Rajkot. The poster was later pulled down.
The Aam Admi Party, which is trying to make a foothold in Gujarat, has been demanding ballot papers in the upcoming elections. Party chief Arvind Kejriwal is expected in Gujarat later this month.
