Contesting an election on the BJP ticket would almost ensure a candidate’s victory in Gujarat as the saffron party is continuously emerging victorious right from panchayat to the lok Sabha polls since 2012 Assembly elections.
This fact is reflecting on upcoming bypolls of nine Assembly segments as plethora of aspirants are queuing up at the BJP’s Gujarat headquarters and some of them are literally lobbying — though indirectly — to contest in the upcoming Assembly polls.
There are more than 20 aspirants for limkheda Assembly seat in tribal-dominated Dahod district. Same is the case for Kadava Patel-dominated Tankara seat, which falls under newly carved Morbi district. lobbying is not limited to individuals some communities also demanding their share in the pie. Members of Koli community are demanding at least two seats out of four — Talaja, Tankara, Mangrol and Jamnagar — in Saurashtra region. Thakore and Rabari communities are also demanding ticket for Deesa constituency in North Gujarat.
Even for Narendra Modi’s Assembly constituency Maninagar, three names have been surfaced — Kamlesh Patel, chairman Tourism Corporation of Gujarat limited (TCGl). Patel, who elected from Maninagar in 1998, had vacated Maninagar seat for then Chief Minister Modi in 2002. Another contender for the coveted seat is Mahesh Kasvala, general secretary of Ahmedabad city unit of the saffron party. Kasvala played important role in the last lok Sabha elections. Third name for the seat is vice-chairman of State Planning Commission, Narhari Amit, who left the Congress and joined BJP just before the Assembly elections in 2012. Amin may also consider for Matar Assembly constituency, which falls under Anand district. Interestingly, Patel, Amin and Kaswala are belonging to powerful Patel community.
Sources in the Gujarat BJP said that a meeting of election committee would be held on Friday to discuss on the probable candidates for nine Assembly segments and Vadodara lok Sabha constituency.