New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party has “awarded” former MLA Kantilal Amrutia with a seat from Gujarat’s Morbi for saving many more lives that killed 137 people in the horrific bridge collapse on October 30.
Amrutia has replaced sitting MLA from Morbi, Brijesh Merja – state, panchayat and labor minister – in the first list of 160 candidates the BJP announced on Thursday for the December assembly elections.
The party has so far removed 38 sitting MLAs and repeated 69.
Those excluded included former chief minister Vijay Rupani, former deputy CM Nitin Patel and former ministers Pradeep Singh Jadeja and Bhupendra Chudasama, whom the party said they wanted to work at the grassroots level.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel will contest from Ghatlodiya, while cricketer Ravindra Jadeja’s wife Rivaba has been fielded from Jamnagar (North).
Patidar leader Hardik Patel, who quit Congress for BJP, will contest from Viramgam and Home Minister Harsh Sanghvi will contest from Majura seat.
Other turncoats of the Congress include Rajendrasinh Rathwa, whose MLA father Mohansinh Rathwa recently joined the BJP. Sitting MLA Ahir community leader Bhagwan Barad, who resigned on Wednesday and joined the BJP, has also got a ticket along with former MLA Manojbhai Vaghela, who will contest against Dalit activist Jignesh Mevani.
A senior party leader said of Amrutia: “She was instrumental in saving many lives as she reached the first spot and stayed there till the end. The party wants to reward such people as they have done exemplary work. The sitting MLA was involved in several controversies related to the bridge and the party did not want to take any risk.
Gujarat BJP in-charge Bhupendra Yadav said: “People from all walks of life are represented in this (poll) list. We have given tickets to 14 women, 13 SC and 24 ST candidates.
He said that the downtrodden had told the leadership that they wanted to work for the party rather than join the electoral race. These included RC Faldu, Saurabh Patel, Nitin Patel, Kaushik Patel, Vijay Rupani, Bhupendra Chudasama, Pradeepsinh Jadeja and Kaushik Patel.
A day before the announcement of the list, former chief minister Vijay Rupani and three of his former cabinet colleagues – former deputy CMs Nitin Patel, Pradeep Singh Jadeja and Bhupendra Chudasama – had requested the central leadership not to consider their names during ticket selection.
Keeping in mind the caste arithmetic, the party chose activist Mukesh Dwarkaprasad Patel in place of Nitin Patel from the Patidar community. Former CM Vijay Rupani’s seat has been given to Dr. Darshita Paras Shah, who will contest from Rajpur West.
Former Dholka MLA Kirit Singh Sardar Singh Dabhi has been fielded in place of Chudasama.
The party appointed Ghanshyam Bhai Desai, a businessman in Botad, in place of Saurabh Patel.
Former IPS officer PC Baranda, who unsuccessfully contested the 2017 elections, has got a ticket from Bhiloda.
Prominent leader Balwant Singh has got ticket from Sidhpur in place of senior leader Jai Narayan Vyas, who left the party recently.
Another interesting name in the list is that of Ramesh Bhai Tilara, who has got the ticket from Rajkot South. Tilara is the trustee of the influential Kodadhan temple of the Patidar community.
Some of the lucky ones, who were ministers in Rupani’s cabinet, and managed to get tickets this time include Ishwar Parmar, Ganpatbhai Vasava, Jayesh Raddia, Dilip Thakor and Jawahar Bhai Chavda.
BJP Gujarat president CR Patil said: “This time, the Gujarat election is all about improving the party’s record in the state both in terms of seats and victory margin.”
A senior BJP leader said the party has tried to strike a balance between fresh and experienced faces. “Many professionals and young faces have also been given space. People from all walks of life have got a chance. The anti-incumbency factor is always at play and some sitting MLAs have been removed at the organizational level and even on the basis of government surveys,” the leader said.
The BJP, which has been in power in Gujarat since 1995, is trying to improve its position in 2017, when the Congress won 77 seats and narrowed the ruling party to 99. BJP’s target this time is to win 150 seats out of 182. -Member Assembly.
The BJP is also concerned about the Aam Aadmi Party’s concerted effort to emerge as a major challenger in Gujarat. The fledgling party has already acquired some land in the state. In the municipal elections last year, you Safe 28 percent votes were cast in Surat, 21 percent in Gandhinagar and 17 percent in Rajkot.
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