In a late evening growth Friday, Congress declared its first record of 43 candidates for the upcoming Gujarat Meeting elections. The Congress has fielded Rajya Sabha MP Amee Yagnik from Ghatlodia meeting seat, which is at present being held by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
Although BJP is but to announce its candidates, Patel is anticipated to contest once more from the identical seat.
The Congress’s record additionally contains names of former BJP MLA and former Aam Aadmi Social gathering (AAP) state president Kanu Kalsariya and Praful Togadiya, cousin of former VHP chief Pravin Togadia.
Kalsariya had efficiently led a farmers’ agitation in opposition to the state authorities over giving freely land for a cement plant by the Nirma Group, and is being fielded from his former constituency of Mahuva.
Togadiya will contest from the Patidar-dominated Varachha Street seat in Surat.
Togadiya was additionally declared as a candidate by the Congress in 2017 from Varachha however was dropped after stiff opposition from the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS ).
Equally, the celebration has fielded Nilesh Kumbhani from Kamrej in Surat. In 2017, Kumbhani was additionally dropped because of opposition by PAAS.
The celebration has fielded Darshan Naik, a cooperative chief, farmer, and advocate. He was additionally a former chief of the opposition with Surat district Panchayat throughout final time period.
Former Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) President Arjun Modhwadia, who had misplaced the 2017 elections, is again within the ballot fray for the Congress from Porbandar.
In Central Gujarat, the Congress has fielded Dhruval Patel from Nadiad in Kheda whereas in Vadodara metropolis, it has declared candidates for 4 out of 5 city seats, together with sitting Vadodara Municipal Company corporator and Chief of Opposition Ami Ravat from Sayajigunj, Vadodara metropolis unit Social gathering President Rutvik Joshi from Akota, Sanjay Patel from Raopura and Dr Tashvin Singh from Manjalpur.
The celebration has additionally declared candidates for ten out of the 27 seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST) together with Snehalata Govind Khant from Morva Hadaf in Panchmahal district, the place the celebration had not contested within the 2017 polls because of an alliance with Bharatiya Tribal Social gathering.
Within the ST seat of Sankheda in Chhota Udepur, it has fielded Dhiru Bhil, who had received the constituency in 2012 and misplaced to BJP’s Abesinh Tadvi in 2017.
In Dahod, out of the six seats, the celebration has fielded Dr Mitesh Garasiya from Jhalod ST, dropping sitting MLA Bhavesh Katara, son of controversial former BJP MP Babu Katara, who had joined the Congress forward of the 2017 election. Katara’s absence from Congress occasions for the reason that arrest of his youthful brother, Amit, in an alleged case of homicide of a BJP chief Hiren Patel in October final yr, had been a sign of his aloofness from the celebration.
Equally in Dang district , the celebration fielded Mukesh Patel, son of former Congress MLA of Dangs Chandrabhai Patel. Mukesh’s spouse, Geeta Patel, is the chief of Opposition with Dangs district Panchayat. The BJP MLA from Dangs Vijay Patel had defeated Congress candidate Suryakant Gavit (Christian) within the final meeting elections.