Vyas, 70, was health and family welfare minister till 2012, but he was sidelined in the party after losing to Congress candidate Balvantsinh Rajput in the 2012 election
Senior leader and former minister Jaynarayan Vyas, who was pretty much sidelined after losing in 2012, has been named the BJP candidate from Sidhpur seat in north Gujarat.
A four-term MLA, Vyas is among the senior-most and most learned politicians in the state. He was elected to the Assembly in 1990, 1995, 1998, and 2007, while losing in 2002 and 2012 Assembly elections. Vyas, 70, was health and family welfare minister till 2012, but he was sidelined in the party after losing to Congress candidate Balvantsinh Rajput in the 2012 election. His job was more or less restricted to representing the BJP and state government in the media.
Incidentally, Rajput quit the Congress a few months ago and contested in the Rajya Sabha elections as a BJP candidate. Rajput lost, but was recently made chairman of Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC), thus paving the way for Jaynarayan Vyas's return to electoral politics.
THREE OTHER 2012 LOSERS IN BJP LIST
Three others, who had contested unsuccessfully in the 2012 polls, find a place in the BJP's final list of 34 candidates. Former MLA Bharat Barot, who had lost in 2012, will contest again against Congress MLA Gyasuddin Sheikh from Dariapur seat. Atul Patel, who had lost from Kalol in 2012, and Kanu Dabhi, who had lost from Kapadvanj, too have been repeated.
TEJSHRI PATEL, FORMER CONG MLA GETS BJP TICKET
BJP has nominated former Congress MLA Tejshree Patel as its candidate from Viramgam seat. She had quit Congress and joined BJP just before the Rajya Sabha elections.
The BJP's list has more than a dozen new faces, including Jitu Vaghela, who will take on Congress MLA Shailesh Parmar from Danilimda (SC) seat.
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