BJP, AAP Field Many Turncoats In Gujarat; Congress Prefers Loyalists

Ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Aam Aadmi Party (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 Congress has preferred to field party loyalists, including 21 sitting MLAs.

The BJP, opposition Congress and the Arvind Kejriwal-led 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 on December 1 and 5.

According to the BJP's list of 160 candidates it released on yesterday, 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 on 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 on the BJP's list. Some of these former MLAs are Raghavji Patel (Jamnagar Rural) and Balwantsinh Rajput (Sidhpur).

Mr Rajput had resigned in July 2017 ahead of the Rajya Sabha election and went on to contest the polls on BJP ticket.

Patel was expelled from the Congress for voting against the party mandate in the Rajya Sabha election. He was defeated in the 2017 Assembly election, but won the byelection in 2019 after the then sitting Congress MLA from Jamnagar rural seat, Vallabh Dharaviya, resigned and joined the BJP.

No leader from rival political parties who joined the Congress in the recent past has figured in the list of 89 candidates released by the 'grand old party' so far. Congress's state party chief Jagdish Thakor said party workers will be the first choice.

"Our first choice is our workers. Those workers who have strengthened the Congress to challenge the BJP, despite being victimised by the ruling party, will be the first choice. If other leaders from any other party joins the Congress, they will not be given the ticket, irrespective of how big the leader is," he told reporters.

Mr Thakor added that there was nothing surprising in former Congress leaders being fielded by the BJP in the 2022 polls.

"We have formed our strategy keeping this in mind. Not a single Congress turncoat is going to win. Even the BJP's own workers will not let them win," he said.

The list of 174 candidates declared by AAP shows that it has also fielded several candidates who quit Congress, BJP and Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) to join it.

AAP has fielded former Congress spokesperson Kailash Gadhvi from the Mandvi seat. It has also fielded former BJP president of Surat PVS Sarma from Surat distirct's Majura seat.

Former Congress leader and the party's candidate in the 2017 Assembly election, Bharatsinh Vakhala, has also been given AAP's ticket from Devgadh Baria.

The party has also fielded former BTP president of Narmada district Chaitar Vasava from Dediapada. Former BTP leader Prful Vasava who unsuccessfully contested from the Nandod seat in 2017, joined AAP and has been fielded by the party from the same seat for the 2022 elections.

Today, two-term BJP MLA from the Matar seat, Kesarsinh Vaghela, also joined AAP. It is yet to be seen whether he gets a ticket to contest from AAP. Mr Vaghela was denied a ticket by the BJP.

Some of the former BJP leaders who have joined the Congress in the run-up to the election are former BJP MP from Panchmahal and multiple-term MLA Parbatsinh Chauhan, former BJP MLA from Dabhoi seat Balkrishna Patel and Bayad MLA Mahendrasinh Vaghela, who is the son of former Gujarat Chief Minister Shankersinh Vaghela, among others.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)