While the list had many new faces as expected, a surprise repeat was sitting MP Harin Pathak who got the candidature from the Ahmedabad East seat.
After a long delay, the BJP on Tuesday announced candidates for 21 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat. While the list had many new faces as expected, a surprise repeat was sitting MP Harin Pathak who got the candidature from the Ahmedabad East seat.
Interestingly, four of the candidates are former Congress leaders — Lalji Mer, Bhavsinh Rathod, Devusinh Chauhan and Poonam Jat, a former Indian National Trade Union Congress (the Congress-affiliated trade union) leader.
Three of the BJP nominees — Deepak Sathi, CR Patil and Prabhatsinh Chauhan - have been involved in cooperative bank scams, while Bhavsinh Rathod has a tainted past. The party’s first list has three women candidates.
The BJP declared Harin Pathak’s name from Ahmedabad East constituency, indicating that senior leader LK Advani was able to save his protégé. Pathak’s ticket was not sure till the last moment due to his problems with chief minister Narendra Modi. Pathak, who was a minister in the NDA government, has won from Ahmedabad six times and this will be his seventh election.
Conjecture also failed on the Ahmedabad West (SC) seat where the BJP opted for a totally new face — Dr Kirit Solanki. He has never held a post in the party nor has he fought an election before. A gastroenterologist, Solanki teaches surgery at Municipal Medical College, VS Hospital and owns a private hospital in Vadaj.
Another new entrant is Kiran Patel, the suave leader from Rajkot who joined the BJP only the last Sunday. He heads the Galaxy group that is associated with several educational institutions in Saurashtra, the main being the SN Kansagra schools. Patel belongs to Kadva Patel caste which has more hold on the constituency after delimitation.
Porbandar candidate Mansukh Khacharia too is a newcomer. He belongs to Jetpur and has been active in the BJP for many years. Khacharia is a Leuva Patel and has been associated with social organisations. He is secretary of the Jetpur Dyeing and Printing Association.
In Anand, former MP Deepak Sathi, who was denied ticket in 2004 because of his involvement in multi-crore Charotar cooperative bank scam, managed to get nomination this time. Sathi is a Leuva Patel and is into real estate and media.
Baroda will see a straight fight between two Marathi manus with the BJP announcing the name of Balkrishna Shukla, the Vadodara mayor, as its candidate against Satyajeetsingh Gaekwad of the Congress. Shukla, an RSS worker, has a clean track record. He is currently pursuing MBA from MS University and has been a top sportsman.
Matar MLA Devusinh Chauhan’s candidature from Kheda was being earnestly pushed by three sitting legislators of the region. This former Congressman joined the BJP just before the 2007 assembly elections and defeated Narhari Amin. BJP looks to bag Kshatriya votes, which account for 50% of electorate.
In Navsari, the BJP has nominated Chandrakant Raghunath Patil, a former police constable. Patil, born in Jalgaon, is considered the tallest leader in the Maharashtrian community in South Gujarat where it has sizeable presence. Patil is a textile processor and realtor by profession. His image had taken a beating after the collapse of Diamond Jubilee Co-operative Bank, from which he had taken loans worth several crores.
However, Patil slowly repaid the entire loan.
In Kutch, the party has nominated newcomer Poonam Jat, a former INTUC leader who hails from Mumbai.
The BJP has put up Jayshree Patel from Mehsana, a stronghold of Patel community. Patel is chairperson of the state women’s commission. She was earlier president of the state BJP women’s cell.
A big surprise came from Surat where Darshana Zardosh was named as the BJP candidate. The general secretary of the Gujarat BJP Mahila Morcha has been with BJP for well over two decades and is considered close to Modi.
In Patan, the BJP gave the ticket to Congress MLA from Sami-Harij and history-sheeter Bhavsinh Rathod. He resigned from the Congress but has not formally joined the BJP. However, given his clout among the Thakor community, the BJP gave him the ticket.
The BJP opted for a new face in Sabarkantha too. Dr Mahendrasinh Chauhan, a kshatriya, is a three-time zila panchayat member and president of the education committee. He is an ayurvedic doctor and runs a hospital at Gambhoi village.
The BJP opted for a complete fresher in Ritesh Vasava from Bardoli constituency. Son of IPS officer Amarsinh Vasava, Ritesh, 26, is preparing for the civil services exam. Ritesh has been very active as a social worker in his area, Mangrol.
The BJP candidate from Valsad, Dr DC Patel is younger brother of ex-minister KC Patel. He is widely respected in and around Dharampur in Valsad district, where he has been running a hospital for many years.
Ramesh Mungra, declared the candidate from Jamnagar, is state BJP general secretary and Jamnagar district panchayat member.
Sitting MP Haribhai Chaudhari has been renominated from Banaskatha seat. He is a well-known educationist and has won this seat twice, defeating Congress leader BK Gadhvi.
Former MP Ramsinh Rathwa has been declared candidate from Chhota Udepur seat. Rathwa is a tribal and started his career as a teacher at a Vadodara school. He was member of Rajya Sabha from 1982 to 1988 and again from 1988 to 1994 and a Lok Sabha member between 1999 and 2004.
Bharuch is one of the few seats where the BJP has repeated a candidate. Mansukh Vasava will contest the seat for the fourth consecutive term. Vasava’s candidature reveals that the BJP does not want to take any chances on this seat.
Two-time loser in assembly elections — once on the Congress ticket and once as an Independent, Lalji Mer has got the BJP ticket from Surendranagar. Mer belongs to the numerically powerful Thakor community and is brother of Independent MLA Ranchod Mer (Dhandhuka). Mer has his construction business and joined the BJP in November 2008.
Prabhatsinh Solanki, a former state minister who lost the assembly election in 2007 from Kalol, has been given ticket from Panchmahals owing to his proximity with chief minister Narendra Modi. He is associated with the co-operative sector.
With inputs by Summit Khanna from Surat and Maulik Buch from Vadodara
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}