The Gujarat BJP on Friday declared candidates for 70 assembly constituencies for the two-phase state elections starting December 9. Besides the names of Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and his deputy Nitin Patel, names of Gujarat BJP chief Jitu Vaghani and several cabinet ministers feature in the party’s first list. Significantly, five former MLAs who were among the 14 to quit the Congress and join BJP in the run-up to the highly controversial Gujarat Rajya Sabha elections in August this year, are also named. All five are senior leaders who wield a lot of influence in their respective constituencies. Out of the 70 names, 42 are of seats that are going to polls in the first phase (December 9) and 28 are for those constituencies that go to polls on December 14 in the second phase.

The Gujarat BJP on Friday declared candidates for 70 assembly constituencies for the two-phase state elections starting December 9. Besides the names of Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and his deputy Nitin Patel, names of Gujarat BJP chief Jitu Vaghani and several cabinet ministers feature in the party’s first list. Significantly, five former MLAs who were among the 14 to quit the Congress and join BJP in the run-up to the highly controversial Gujarat Rajya Sabha elections in August this year, are also named. All five are senior leaders who wield a lot of influence in their respective constituencies. Out of the 70 names, 42 are of seats that are going to polls in the first phase (December 9) and 28 are for those constituencies that go to polls on December 14 in the second phase.