BJP repeats sitting MLAs in first list
Chief minister Narendra Modi to contest Maninagar seat in Ahmedabad in forthcoming assembly elections
Ahmedabad: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday announced its first list of 84 candidates for the Gujarat assembly polls, scheduled to be held in two phases on 13 and 17 December.
Chief minister Narendra Modi will contest the Maninagar seat in Ahmedabad. The list includes BJP state president R.C. Faldu, state agriculture minister Dilip Sanghani and finance minister Vajubhai Vala.
The party is fielding most of the candidates that contested the previous election, including those that lost. The list includes some new candidates mainly in areas that had been affected by delimitation.
Saurabh Patel, the minister of state for industries and energy, who contested the Botad seat in 2007, has been replaced by T.D. Maniya. Patel is likely to contest from Vadodara, said a party source with knowledge of the development.
The BJP’s list includes 11 women candidates, six from scheduled castes and 14 from scheduled tribes.
The party has also fielded Poonam Madam, daughter of the late Hemant Madam, a six-term member of the Gujarat assembly from the Congress party from Khambhaliya.
The Congress, the main opposition party in the state, released its list of 52 candidates late on Wednesday evening. State party chief Arjun Modhwadia has been re-nominated for his Porbander seat, while leader of the opposition Shaktisinh Gohil will contest the Bhavnagar rural segments.
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