BJP fields 22 Muslim candidates for Vadodara municipalities, district and taluka panchayats

The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) has fielded 22 candidates from Muslim community for the elections to district and taluka panchayats, and municipalities in Vadodara.

On February 11 evening, the BJP announced names of candidates for 34 seats of Vadodara district panchayat, 167 seats of taluka panchayat and 88 seats of municipalities of Karjan, Dabhoi, Savli and Padra. The party has given tickets to a total of 22 Muslim candidates –14 tickets in the district panchayat and municipalities and seven seats in various taluka panchayats. Of these, five Muslim candidates have been fielded from Savli Municipality alone.

The list has excluded relatives of party leaders holding posts as per the party’s new bar for selection of candidates. Sources said that although MLAs Shailesh Sotta and Akshay Patel nominated Shailesh Patel for the Por District Panchayat seat, the party chose former district BJP general secretary Ashok Patel because Shailesh Patel’s wife is the APMC Chairperson. Ashok Patel also happened to be a candidate recommended by former Karjan MLA Satish Patel (Nishaliya), senior leaders said. Ashok’s wife Rina was a candidate from the seat in the last term.

Waghodia MLA Madhu Srivastav, who had sought a ticket for his daughter Neelam from Goraj, was also ignored and Kalpana Patel was fielded from the seat instead. Shrivastav’s son Deepak’s nomination as an independent candidate in Vadodara Municipal Corporation’s Election Ward 15 was rejected due to the two-child policy on Monday.

Party leaders said that some candidates for Padra Municipality and Shinor Taluka Panchayat seats have not been announced but will be done shortly.

For the district panchayats, the party has given tickets to former district panchayat president Sudha Parmar from Mobha seat, former executive chairman Kamlesh Patel from the Pilol seat — his wife Ramila was a candidate from the seat in 2015 while Kamlesh himself won from Tundav seat.

Besides, Dilip Chauhan has been given a second chance from the Gothda seat. The candidate from Shinor District Panchayat is Kokila Parmar — wife of Ranjit Parmar, who was the candidate from the seat in the last polls.