Gujarat Assembly elections: After Hardik deal, Cong first list of 77 out
New Delhi: Hours after it reached an understanding with the Hardik Patel-led Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), papering over their differences on seat-sharing for the coming Gujarat Assembly elections and a quota for Patels in the state, the Congress Party late Sunday night released its first list of 77 candidates for the first phase of polls on December 9.
The list was held up due to the hectic negotiations going on between the Congress and PAAS, which were finally resolved with the deal sealed in Ahmedabad. The PAAS nominees will contest on the Congress symbol.
In the first list there are 23 candidates from the Patidar community, including both Congress as well as PAAS nominees. A ticket has been given to Mr Hardik Patel’s key aide and PAAS nominee Lalit Vasoya from Dhoraji, while the Congress denied a ticket to PAAS’ Manoj Panara from Morbi, and instead decided to go with its own nominee. Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil’s seat was changed, and he will now contest from Mandvi in Kutch. While Congress candidate Indranil Rajyaguru will take on chief minister Vijay Rupani from Rajkot West, senior party leader Arjun Modhwadia will stand from Porbandar.
The caste arithmetic in this list has eight OBCs, 12 Kolis and seven dalits, among others. The Congress has tried to repeat its sitting candidates: 14 on the first list are sitting MLAs.
The party has also weighed in recommendations coming in from new entrant and OBC leader Alpesh Thakore, and the recommendations of dalit leader Jignesh Mevani have also been taken into consideration.
Earlier Sunday, Gujarat PCC chief Bharat Singh Solanki tweeted after marathon meetings with PAAS leaders in New Delhi and Ahmedabad: “Had fruitful discussions with PAAS convenors in a positive environment. We have clarified all their queries and the meeting has ended on a positive note.”
In Ahmedabad, the PAAS leadership said the Congress Party had accepted their demand for quotas in jobs and education for the Patidar community and the details on how this would be achieved would be shared by Mr Patel from Rajkot on Monday. Mr Patel is due to address a rally in CM Vijay Rupani’s constituency in Rajkot on Monday.
While the PAAS, led by Mr Patel, had demanded around 20 seats from the Congress, Mr Thakore, who has recently joined the Congress, has demanded 12 seats.
Eighty-nine Assembly segments go to the polls in the first phase on December 9. While the Congress has released a list of 77 names, it is expected to come out with another list on Monday. The last date for the filing of nominations for the first round is Tuesday.
The BJP has already announced 106 candidates out of the total 182 seats in the two lists that have been released so far. Polling in Gujarat will be held in two phases. While 89 constituencies will vote in the first round on December 9, the remaining 93 will vote on December 14. The results will be declared on December 18.
Mr Patel had set the quota demand as a precondition for extending support to the Congress. Several rounds of meetings had been held with the PAAS leadership, including one with senior Congress leader and lawyer Kapil Sibal, who had explored the legal aspects of a quota for the community.
Interestingly, Gujarat PCC chief Bharat Singh Solanki has said he will not contest the coming elections though he dismissed speculation that this was due to differences with the party leadership over the distribution of tickets.
“I have declared it earlier and I am declaring it today as well that I will not fight the Gujarat Assembly elections,” Mr Solanki said.
He said that some people had started a campaign against him that he was not happy with the party high command and had left the Central Election Committee meeting halfway in New Delhi to return to Gujarat.
