As the Gujarat assembly elections 2022 are less than a month away, the Bhartiya Janta Party has revealed its list of strong candidates for the upcoming polls, one of which is Payal Kukrani, sparking controversy in Gujarat.
Despite the massive criticism rained on the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) over the release of the Bilkis Bano gang rape convicts earlier this year, the ruling party in Gujarat has decided to field Payal Kukrani for the polls, whose father is a convict in the 2002 Gujarat riots case.
Who is Payal Kukrani?
BJP leader Payal Kukrani is the youngest person to be on the candidate list of the party for the upcoming Gujarat elections 2022. Kukrani, who is 30 years old, is an anesthesiologist, with her family being associated with the BJP for a long time.
Payal is the daughter of Manoj Kukrani, who is one of the 16 convicts 2002 post-Godhra Naroda Patiya massacre case, where nearly 100 Muslims were killed in the span of a few hours. Kukrani was given a life sentence in the 2002 Gujarat riots case but is currently out on bail.
Payal Kukrani is being fielded from the Naroda seat in Ahmedabad for the Gujarat elections. Notably, Naroda is the area where the Muslim massacre took place, for which her father has been convicted.
Payal’s mother Reshma Kukrani is a BJP corporator, and her family has been associated with the Bhartiya Janta Party for several years. Kukrani has also said that if she wins the elections, her priority will be to help the locals and develop the constituency in the future.
The Naroda seat has been a stronghold for the BJP since 1990, and the party has decided to drop sitting MLA Balram Thawani to field Payal Kukrani from the seat, which has left several BJP leaders unhappy.
The Gujarat assembly elections 2022 are scheduled for next month by the Election Commission of India. The voting is set to be held in two phases from December 1 to 5, while the results will be declared on December 8, 2022.
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