Even as the BJP’s parliamentary board has met to finalise the list of candidates for assembly elections in Gujarat, at least four top party leaders have come out in the open to declare that they are not in the fray.
Leading from the front is former chief minister Vijay Rupani and his then deputy Nitin Patel.
While Rupani told media on Wednesday that he has already informed the leadership that young people should be given a chance and that he is not interested in contesting the elections, Patel wrote a letter to Gujarat BJP president C.R. Patil.
Rupani and Patel represent Rajkot (West) and Mehsana seats respectively.
Two others who have expressed their “desire” of not contesting elections include former education minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama and former home minister Pradipsinh Jadeja.
In a move that had raised many eyebrows, the BJP leadership in September 2021 had not only changed the chief minister and his deputy, but the entire cabinet was shown the door.
A couple of months ago, Rupani was made the in-charge of the party in Punjab, in indication that his role in Gujarat is over.
There were allegations of corruption in the Vijay Rupani-led government and his team was facing anti-incumbency that the BJP could not afford to carry on further with an election scheduled in December 2022.
Gujarat votes on December 1 and 5 to elect 182 law makers.
In a letter to Patil, Patel has said that he does not want to contest election and his name should not be considered for Mehsana seat.
In the handwritten letter, Patel stated that he had begun his career as a member of Kadi municipality in 1977. He also mentioned that he represented Kadi assembly segment four times and then the Mehsana assembly seat from 2012 to 2022.
Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for inspiring him, Patel said that he would continue to remain a dedicated worker of the party.
The grapevine in the political circles is that the BJP Parliamentary Board had already decided on who all among the sitting MLAs would not be given tickets this time. They were reportedly told to make an announcement that they are not interested in contesting, so that the announcement of any other name in their seats does not come in as an embarrassment for them.
