Vijay Rupani and Nitin Patel opt out; Hardik and Alpesh likely to make cut: List of BJP probables for Gujarat elections

A meeting of the BJP central election committee was underway on Wednesday evening to finalise the candidates for the Gujarat Assembly polls, which will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5. 

As the meeting started, former chief minister and BJP leader Vijay Rupani, along with his then deputy Nitin Patel and Bhupendrasinh Chudasama, opted out of the polls. 

"I worked as Chief Minister for five years with everyone’s cooperation. In these polls, responsibility should be given to new workers. I won’t contest the poll, I sent letter to seniors and conveyed it to Delhi. We’ll work to make the chosen candidate win," Rupani said.

According to news agency PTI, the probables include Hardik Patel and Alpesh Thakor who left the Congress to join it among the probables.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, BJP president J P Nadda and other top leaders attended the meeting at the party headquarters in Delhi.

The BJP has decided to cut tickets of 20 per cent of its sitting members of the legislative assembly to end anti-incumbency of six terms.

According to party sources quoted by News18, a few prominent former ministers and top leaders might not get tickets. “There are MLAs against whom there is anti-incumbency. The distribution of tickets will be solely on the basis of winnability. There are at least 20 sitting MLAs who may not get tickets this time,” said sources.

PTI quoted sources saying that Hardik Patel and Alpesh Thakor are likely to get party tickets. Patel may be fielded from Viramgam in Ahmedabad. Cricketer Ravindra Jadeja's wife Rivaba Jadeja also among the probable candidates, the sources said.

The BJP is likely to field Kantilal Amrutya, a former MLA from Morbi, who reportedly jumped into the river to save people after the collapse of a bridge, which killed more than 130 people.

The saffron party is likely to finalise all 182 candidates during the meeting and announce their names in the next few days, sources said.

The BJP is eyeing a seventh consecutive victory in the state.

Aiming to set a new record in terms of the number of seats won, the saffron party is looking to inject new energy into the organisation. Hence, the possibility of dropping several senior leaders from the list of candidates cannot be ruled out, the sources said.

They also said the party has received suggestions that it should opt for new and young faces.

Former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani and former deputy CM Nitin Patel and two other senior leaders -- Bhupendrasinh Chudasama and Pradipsinh Jadeja -- have already announced that they would not contest the upcoming assembly polls.

In the fiercely fought Gujarat polls five years ago, the BJP had won 99 seats and its main rival Congress bagged 77 seats.

Currently, the BJP's strength in the 182-member Assembly is 111 after several MLAs from the Congress defected to it and it is unlikely that the saffron party will repeat all the incumbent MLAs.

The Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) entry into Gujarat this time has opened a new front in the otherwise bipolar election.

Polling will be held in two phases in Gujarat on December 1 and 5. The counting of votes will be taken up on December 8, along with Himachal Pradesh.