Instead on banking upon high-profile candidates, the Bharatiya Janata Party recognised work of its cadres and resorted on local workers for the upcoming by-elections of Vadodara lok Sabha constituency and nine Assembly seats in Gujarat.
Especially in Vadodara, where speculations were high that the saffron party may put its president Amit Shah as its candidate, BJP gave ticket to low-profile candidate Ranjanben Bhatt. Vadodara lok Sabha constituency was vacated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to keep Varanasi. 50-year-old Bhatt’s name came as a surprise to many as names of heavyweights like former Vadodara MP Balubhai Shukla, former MlA Bhupendra lakhawala and scion of Vadodara’s royal family Samarjitsinh Gaekwad were making rounds.