The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) named candidates for three more Lok Sabha seats in the state on Wednesday, dropping all three incumbent MPs, including Union minister Haribhai Chaudhary.
The BJP nominated minister of state Parbatbhai Patel as its candidate from Banaskantha, Ramesh Dhaduk from Porbandar, and Ratansinh Rathod from Panchmahal seat. Haribhai Chaudhary, Vitthal Radadiya, and Prabhatsinh Chauhan, who represent the three seats in the Parliament at present, were axed. BJP insiders said that Chaudhary, a four-term MP and presently minister of state for coal and mines, was dropped because of bribery allegations against him during the unprecedented CBI versus CBI fight.
Porbandar MP Vitthal Radadiya was dropped because of his poor health. Incidentally, Radadiya was pressing for a ticket for his younger son Lalit, while the party was willing to field elder son and cabinet minister Jayesh Radadiya. However, it didn't work out as Jayesh wasn't keen on giving up the ministry, and BJP didn't want to accommodate a second family member. The BJP nominated industrialist and Patidar leader Ramesh Dhaduk, who was earlier member of Gondal Municipality, as its candidate.
Panchmahal MP Prabhatsinh Chauhan was apparently dropped owing to non-performance, and controversies. Chauhan was demanding that the ticket be given to a family member if not himself, but the party ignored his claim. Incidentally, his daughter-in-law Suman Chauhan is MLA from Kalol seat.
Chauhan's replacement Ratansinh Rathod, is MLA from Lunawada seat in Panchmahal district. Rathod had contested the 2017 assembly elections as an independent candidate after being denied a ticket by the Congress party. He had joined the BJP after winning the seat, and would be contesting his maiden Lok Sabha election.
With the latest list, BJP has so far declared candidates for 19 out of 26 Lok Sabha seats in the state. It has repeated 14 of the MPs, while dropping five, including party patriarch LK Advani. Actor and Ahmedabad East MP Paresh Rawal has also already announced that he would not be contesting in the elections.
According to party insiders, the fate of at least 3-4 more MPs from the remaining six seats hangs in the balance. The seats are Surat, Mehsana, Junagadh, Patan, Anand and Chhota Udepur.
Congress, on the other hand, has declared candidates for six seats so far, while 20 nominees are yet to be named.
BJP YET TO NAME 7 CANDIDATES
With the latest list, BJP has so far declared candidates for 19 out of 26 Lok Sabha seats in the state. It has repeated 14 of the MPs, while dropping five
