Guj Assembly polls: BJP releases 1st list of 160 candidates

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday announced the first list of 160 candidates for the Gujarat Assembly elections. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel will contest the elections from the Ghatlodia constituency.

Addressing a joint press conference Union Ministers Mansukh Mandviya, Bhupender Yadav and State BJP chief CR Paatil announced the names of the candidates.

The wife of cricketer Ravindra Jadeja, Rivaba Jadeja got a ticket and she will contest from the Jamnagar North constituency.

Former Congress leader Hardik Patel, who quit the party and joined the BJP, will contest the elections from the Viramgam constituency Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi will contest elections from Majura constituency.

Notably, BJP held the party's Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting regarding the Gujarat Assembly election at the party's headquarters on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi where national president JP Nadda, Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav, former Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa and others arrive at party HQ for the party's Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting.

Soon after the meeting former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani and three other leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced that they would not contest the upcoming assembly elections of the state to make way for the new faces.

Rupani was the chief minister of Gujarat from August 2016 to September 2021.

Currently, he is an MLA from Rajkot West. The BJP core group meeting for Gujarat polls took place at Nadda's residence on Tuesday evening. Gujarat has been the BJP bastion for decades and the party is seeking its seventh term in office.

Polling will take place in Gujarat on December 1 and December 5. While Congress is seeking to oust the BJP, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is also making efforts to put up a strong performance in the polls.