BJP declares list of 39 for polls in Vadodara

The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) has declared 39 out of the 75 candidates who will contest civic elections for the party in Vadodara. And Atul Bedade, former international Indian cricketer, has also been given a ticket.

Bedade will contest polls from ward number 20 in Vadodara. The BJP has fielded 22 fresh faces, but also repeated 17 candidates who have already been elected as corporators in previous elections.

The party has announced a total of 39 candidates out of 75, for 25 wards in the city. Bedade has been with the BJP since 12 years now, and is a key member of the Krida Bharti, the sports wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS).

Bedade is very happy about his selection for the polls. "I have been associated with the party for the last 12 years. I joined when Keshubhai Patel had come for a membership drive. Their ideology is what attracted me towards the BJP," the sportsman said, adding that if elected, he hopes to solve the problems ailing his ward.

However, the selection of candidates has sparked anger in a few factions of the city BJP. Certain party members have been complaining that several candidates have been given tickets to wards they do not live in. Therefore, they're unlikely to understand the grievances of the residents, they say.

They also claim that committed workers have been sidelined this time, and that the party has either selected people with Congress origins, or those who went against the party by contesting previous elections as independent candidates.