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Gujarat elections 2017: BJP announces 28 more names for Guj polls; 15 MLAs dropped

The BJP has now announced its candidates for 134 out of 182 seats, and Congress 77

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Ramanlal Vora, Saurabh Patel and RC Faldu
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Wary of anti-incumbency and the unrest in Patidar community, the ruling BJP dropped more than half of its sitting MLAs, including four ministers, in the third list of 28 candidates it announced on Monday. The BJP has now announced its candidates for 134 out of 182 seats, and Congress 77.

The BJP had won 23 of these 28 Assembly seats in 2012 polls, and Congress the remaining five.

The party has dropped 15 of its MLAs, while repeating ten of them, including two whose seats have been changed.

Four ministers have also failed to find a place in the list. They are Tarachand Chheda, Jayanti Kavadiya, Vallabh Vaghasiya and Nanu Vanani. Kavadiya and Vanani had announced earlier that they would not be contesting in the elections.

Former ministers Narottam Patel and Vasuben Trivedi are among those who have failed to find a place in the list.

Poonam Makwana, Arvind Ladani, Bhanu Babariya, Jetha Solanki, Shiva Gohel, TD Maniya, Praful Pansheriya, Ajay Choksi and Janak Bagdanawala are the other sitting MLAs who did not make the cut.

With 15 tickets, the Patidar community has got a lion's share of tickets in the BJP's list. There are three SC and OBC candidates, two general candidates, two ST candidates, among others in the list.

Seats changed for Vora, Saurabh

Among the ten sitting MLAs who figure in the third list, two will contest from different seats than in 2012.

Former minister and Assembly Speaker Ramanlal Vora has been fielded from Dasada (SC) seat in place of Idar, while former minister Saurabh Patel, who was sidelined from some time, will contest from Botad seat in place of Akota seat.

Eight more MLAs repeated

The eight other MLAs who have been repeated include Pankaj Maheta (Rapar), Kanti Amrutiya (Morbi), Govind Patel (Rajkot South), Keshubhai Nakrani (Gariadhar), Chhatrasinh Mori (Jambusar), Dushyant Patel (Bharuch), Jhankhna Patel (Choryasi) and Mohan Dhodiya (Mahuva ST)

Former state BJP chief RC Faldu, who had lost from Jamnagar Rural seat in 2012, has been nominated from Jamnagar South seat in place of Vasuben Trivedi.

Sole woman

Jhankhna Patel, the sitting MLA from Choryasi constituency in Surat, is the sole woman in the list of 28. Among the 134 seats for which candidates have been announced so far, BJP has fielded women in nine seats.

Major overhaul in Patidar seats

Wary of backlash by Patidars, who are unhappy with BJP over denial of reservation benefits, the party has gone for a major overhaul in seats dominated by the community.

There are five Patidar dominated seats in Surat, all of which the BJP had won in 2012. However, the party fielded new faces from all but one of these five seats. It has also fielded new faces in Patidar dominated Keshod and Savarkundla seats in Saurashtra.

16 new faces

Virendrasinh Jadeja (Mandvi), Jayram Sonagra (Dhrangadhra), Arvind Raiyani (Rajkot East), Lakha Sagathiya (Rajkot Rural SC), Kirit Patel (Visavadar), Deva Malam (Keshod), Ram Vadher (Kodinar SC), Kamlesh Kanani (Savarkundla), Gautam Chauhan (Talaja), Bikha Baraiya (Palitana), VD Zalavadiya (Kamrej), Kanti Ballar (Surat North), Pravin Ghoghari (Karanj), Vivek Patel (Udhna), Vinu Moradiya (Katargam) and Arvind Chaudhary (Vyara ST) are the new faces in the list.

28 MLAs dropped so far

Among the 134 seats for which candidates have been announced so for, the BJP has dropped 28 sitting MLAs, while renominating 68 legislators.

The dropped MLAs include five ministers.

The list of 134 includes just nine women.

For the 89 seats that go to polls in the first phase on December 9, the BJP has now declared candidates for all but the Navsari seat, while Congress has named candidates for 77 seats.

BJP has also declared candidates for 46 out of 93 seats that go to polls in the second phase on December 14. Congress has not yet announced candidates for the second phase.

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