Gujarat is now at the center of a political battle — the likes of which have not been seen in the last two decades. For the first time, Narendra Modi is not contesting the State Assembly polls and its effects can be seen across the state, especially after the PAAS movement took off two years ago when Chief Minister Anandiben Patel was at the helm of affairs in Gujarat.
The Patidar agitation’s after-effects were reflected in the immediate local body elections towards the end of 2015, which saw the Congress make a strong comeback in rural Gujarat, whereas the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) barely managed to hold on to power.
The Assembly elections are crucial for the BJP, as Modi came to power after heavily marketing the ‘Gujarat model’ of development for years, before he became the Prime Minister of the country.
A loss in Gujarat could spell doom for the party in the 2019 general elections. Yet, many analysts still believe that the BJP will again form the government in Gujarat, although by a slim margin.
Will Rupani Contest From Two Seats?
Meanwhile, rumours are rife that Chief Minister Vijay Rupani will contest from a second seat — Akota constituency in Vadodara. This is to counter the impact that Congress candidate Indranil Rajyaguru could have in the polls for the all-important Rajkot (W).
Rajkot (W) has been a BJP stronghold for over four decades. But this time around, anti-incumbency could spell doom for Rupani in his home turf.
Brownie Points for RaGa
Rahul Gandhi scored major brownie points on Friday, during the Navsarjan Gyan Adhikar Sabha in Nikol, Ahmedabad, where he interacted with the teaching fraternity.
During the interaction, one Dr Ranjanaben Awasthi, a PhD in Sanskrit, opened up about her plight and shared how she struggled for 22 years as an ad-hoc teacher earning Rs 12,000. After her services were finally regularised, the state government refused to consider her 22-year tenure as a teacher.
Gandhi who was moved by the tears of Dr Awasthi, walked down the stage to console her, and gave her a hug. The photos of the interaction have gone viral overnight, with Twitterati singing praises of the Congress Vice President.
Gandhi also accepted a Dalit-made 125 X 83.3 feet tricolour, weighing 240 kgs, earlier presented around four months ago to Rupani. However, the Chief Minister had refused to accept it citing lack of space. The flag will be kept at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum in New Delhi.
First List For Second Phase
After the declaration of lists for the first phase of polling, the BJP released its first list candidates for the second phase of polling in Gujarat on Friday. The list contains 13 names, including the BJP ‘vikas’ ad campaign star, Hitesh Kanodia, who will contest elections from Idar constituency. This is where the sitting MLA and current Assembly Speaker, Ramanlal Vora, was elected. Vora will contest from Dasada constituency.
This is the second time Kanodia is contesting the polls as he lost Kadi Assembly seat in 2012 to Congress’ Ramesh Chavda. The BJP has also issued a ticket to former Congress party member Amit Chaudhury, who will contest from Mansa near Gandhinagar.
Of these 13 seats in central and north Gujarat, six were held by the Congress.
The BJP has so far named candidates for 148 seats out of 182.
Friday was the last day of withdrawal of nomination papers for the first phase of Gujarat. A large number of nomination papers were withdrawn from 89 seats of Saurashtra, Kutch, and South Gujarat, where polling will be held on 9 December.
So far, 1,280 nominations were found valid after verification of 1,703 nominations for 89 Assembly seats for first phase of polling. A total of 132 candidates have filed nominations up till the fourth day for filing for the second phase of polling to be held on 14 December. In all, 160 candidates filed nomination forms in four days.
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