BJP releases 2nd list of 12 candidates for Gujarat Assembly Polls

The BJP announced names of 12 more candidates for the assembly elections in Gujarat, after Union home minister Amit Shah held marathon meetings at the state party headquarters on Sunday to iron out differences and finalise the list.

Four more names are yet to be released.

It is learnt that the candidates to be fielded were already telephonically informed and asked to keep their papers ready.


The party had announced the first list of 160 candidates on Thursday last week and another six names on Saturday. Elections to the 182-member assembly are scheduled for December 1 and 5.

Thakore leader Alpesh Thakor has been fielded from the Gandhinagar South seat. Thakor had started his political journey with the Congress and won from Radhanpur in North Gujarat in the 2017 elections. He joined the BJP after cross voting for its Rajya Sabha candidate, but then lost the by-election in Radhanpur.

Party workers in Gandhinagar South have been up in arms against fielding him from there. Posters had come up last week against Thakor, asking him to return to Radhanpur.

A resident of Ahmedabad, Thakor had since the beginning been claiming that he commanded the affection of the people of Radhanpur. BJP workers there, though, have been seeking a local candidate, making his claims untenable. Party fielded local Thakor strongman Lavingji Thakor from there.

Hardik Patel, who too has joined the BJP after deserting the Congress, is also facing a similar situation in Viramgam, his home constituency where he has been fielded by the BJP. While the constituency is home to several senior leaders like Tejashri Patel and Lakha Bharwad, who have dominated the local politics, Patel's joining the BJP has not gone down too well also with many within his community and he faces.