Ahmedabad, 10/11: Patidar agitation leader Hardik Patel, who joined BJP from Congress earlier this year; cricketer Ravindra Jadeja’s wife Rivaba; and Manibhai Vaghela, the Congress turncoat who vacated Vadgam seat for Congress supported Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani, are among 160 candidates whose names were declared by BJP for contesting the upcoming Assembly polls.
The party said that it has not repeated a total of 38 leaders this time including ex-CM Vijay Rupani, Deputy CM Nitin Patel, ex-ministers Bhupendra Chudasama, RC Faldu, Pradipsinh Jadeja, Saurabh Patel, Kaushik Patel on the basis that they wrote to the party leadership informing that they were not “willing” to contest polls.
Union minister and BJP leader Bhupendra Yadav announced the list in Delhi in a press conference accompanied by Gujarat BJP chief C R Paatil. Incumbent CM Bhupendra Patel will contest from Ghatlodia, which he won in the 2017 polls. Meanwhile, Gujarat Home minister Harsh Sanghavi will contest elections from Majura constituency.