Law Kumar Mishra
A good number of senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in Gujarat opted for the “retirement” ahead of party announcing the list of candidates for the ensuing assembly polls in the state.
In a surprise move on Wednesday evening, former Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and his erstwhile cabinet colleagues issued statements announcing voluntary retirement. Despite escaping the yardstick of below 70 years of age, they preferred for a graceful exit instead of petitioning for a party ticket.
However, the leaders had received overt signals that they would be dropped following strong anti-incumbency against them. About a dozen members in Bhupendra Patel cabinet too have been axed. Speaker Nimaben Acharya too was denied renomination.
Those who left the Congress recently have been accommodated. Like 2017, there is no Muslim name in the 2022 list too.
Currently, the BJP’s strength in the 182-member Assembly is 111 after several MLAs from the Congress defected and sheltered in the saffron camp. It was very much unlikely that the saffron party will repeat all the incumbent MLAs.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel will contest the coming assembly elections from his old constituency Ghatlodiya in Ahmedabad, but his predecessor Vijay Rupani, who represented Rajkot East, has been dropped.
At a joint press conference, BJP State President C R Patil, Party General Secretary Bipin Chug and Union Minister Bhupendar Yadav released the list of 160 candidates, dropping 38 incumbent lawmakers of the party.
BJP has fielded Mrs Reeva Ba, wife of Indian cricket player Ravindra Jadeja from Jamnagar West. Youth leaders Alpesh Thakore and Hardik Patel, who had joined BJP deserting Congress have been fielded from Viramgam and Gandhinagar respectively.
The Morbi bridge disaster effect is visible on the list. The sitting MLA and Gujarat’s Panchayati Raj Minister Berji Merja had been denied ticket as the party preferred to bet on former MLA Kantilal Amratiya.
In neighbouring Rajkot district, all the four sitting party MLAs have been replaced by freshers. Leading pathologist Dr Darshita Desai has been fielded from Rajkot West.
