Old faces, 16 Patidars grace BJP’s first list

AHMEDABAD: THE LIST ANNOUNCED ON FRIDAY ALSO INCLUDES 15 NEW FACES, 16 PATIDAR LEADERS, FOUR WOMEN AND FIVE FORMER CONGRESS LEGISLATORS

The BJP’s first list of candidates for next month’s Gujarat polls is devoid of any surprises, indicating the party’s confidence in the same of set of leaders, many of whom faced public anger during the violent Patidar agitation two years ago.

Chief minister Vijay Rupani leads the list of 70 candidates, with 49 of them sitting legislators, contrary to speculation that the party will drop a sizeable number to beat possible anti-incumbency 22 years into its rule in the state.

The list announced on Friday also includes 15 new faces, 16 Patidar leaders, four women and five former Congress legislators, who switched sides during the Rajya Sabha elections in August.

Voting for the state’s 182 seats will be held in two phases on December 9 and 14.

Rupani, also the party’s chief ministerial face, and deputy chief minister Nitin Patel will contest in their strongholds, Rajkot West and Mehsana.

Rupani could face the Congress’ Saurashtra strongman Indranil Rajyaguru, who has been nurturing the Rajkot West seat for over a year.

But the spotlight will mainly be on Patel, who was under severe pressure during the height of the Patidar quota agitation led by Hardik Patel.

Patel once faced angry Patidar women beating steel plates with rolling pins and was forced to leave several venues at Mehsana, the epicentre of the agitation by the community.

To his credit, Patel managed to convince several influential Patidar leaders for negotiations and all their demands except the OBC quota were met.

Similarly, Varachcha sitting MLA Kumar Kanani, who too faced angry protests by Patidars, has been repeated.

Since 2015, when the agitation began, the BJP has not been able to hold a single rally in this constituency.

Besides ministers, the BJP has also senior retained MLAs such as Mahendra Mashru and Padubha Manek, who have never been allotted ministerial berth despite winning for a couple of terms.