The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday issued its third list of 28 candidates for the Gujarat Assembly elections, Hindustan Times reported. The names of 15 sitting MLAs, including three Patidar ministers, were left out from the list.
The three excluded ministers are Nanu Vanani, Jayanti Kavadiya and Vallabh Vagahsia. They represent the Katargam, Dhangadhra and Savarkundla constituencies – places where the agitation by the Patidar community for reservations was particularly strong.
The BJP also did not include former ministers Vasuben Trivedi and IK Jadeja in its list. Trivedi is a close aide of former Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel. IK Jadeja’s supporters had been protesting for his inclusion as a candidate over the last few days, the Hindustan Times reported.
Gujarat Assembly Speaker Ramanlal Vora, former Energy Minister Saurabh Patel and former state president RC Faldul have been allotted seats other than the ones they contested in 2012. They will contest from Dasada, Botad and Jamnagar South.
So far, the ruling party has announced candidates for 134 of the 182 seats in Gujarat, a state which it has ruled for 22 years. The Congress had released its first list of 77 candidates on Sunday.
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