BJP, AAP field several turncoats in Gujarat polls, Congress says loyalists its first choice

New Delhi, 11/11: The ruling BJP and the AAP have rewarded several leaders, who quit rival political parties and joined them, by offering tickets to them to contest the upcoming Assembly polls in Gujarat, while the Congress has preferred to field party loyalists, including 21 sitting MLAs.

 

 

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), opposition Congress and the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have so far declared candidates for 160, 89 and 174 seats, respectively, for the election to the 182-member Assembly to be held in two phases next month. As per the BJP’s list of 160 candidates it released on Thursday, out of 20 MLAs who resigned from the Congress after winning the 2017 Assembly elections, the ruling party has fielded nine. It has also given a ticket to former Congress working president Hardik Patel.

 

However, the BJP is yet to decide the fate of former Congress MLAs Alpesh Thakor and Bhavesh Katara as it has so far not named candidates for the seats they represented. Not just those MLAs who resigned as Congress legislators in the last five years, but also those who had resigned before 2017 have found a place in the BJP’s list. Some of these former MLAs are Raghavji Patel (Jamnagar Rural) and Balwantsinh Rajput (Sidhpur).