Gujarat polls 2022: AAP looks to give sleepless nights to the BJP and the Congress

A day after the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the Gujarat Assembly election dates, political activities have started picking up pace in the State.

The ECI has announced that elections for the 182 assembly seats in Gujarat will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5. The counting of votes will be taken up on December 8.

Close on the heels of the announcement of dates for the assembly polls, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal announced a former TV journalist, Isudan Gadhvi, an OBC, as the CM face of his party. Gadhvi was chosen through public opinion in which 73 percent supported him to be the CM face. Gadhvi is the national general secretary of AAP.

Kejriwal has asserted that AAP will certainly win the Gujarat assembly elections. AAP has already released the list of 118 candidates for the polls. The party is poised to play a crucial role in the polls giving sleepless nights to both the BJP and the Congress.

Meanwhile, upset reportedly over not being made AAP's chief ministerial candidate, former legislature Indranil Rajguru on Friday quit the party and joined Congress. He alleged that the Kejriwal-led party has been functioning as a "B-team" of the BJP in the state.

Also on Friday, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge chaired a meeting of the party's central election committee (CEC) during which several candidates for the Gujarat polls were finalised. Subsequently, the party released the first list of 43 candidates. The Congress has fielded former Gujarat Congress chief Arjun Modhwadiya from Porbandar, Himanshu Patel from Gandhinagar South and Hiteshbhai Vora from Rajkot South. Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi joined the meeting online, while the rest of the participants attended it physically at the AICC headquarters in Delhi.

For the BJP, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday chaired a meeting of top Gujarat BJP leaders, including Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, to deliberate on the potential candidates for the polls.

The BJP has been ruling the state since 1995. Though the party has an anti-incumbency factor working against it, the absence of a solid, united opposition can be counted as one of the advantages for the saffron party. A report however points out that the BJP's seat tally has been declining in each election since 2002. The Deccan Herald reports that BJP's seat tally has gradually come down to 99 in 2017 from 127 seats in 2002. In 2007, the party won 117 seats while in 2012 it won 116 seats. Between 1962 and 1985, Gujarat remained with the Congress.

(With inputs from PTI)

A day after the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the Gujarat Assembly election dates, political activities have started picking up pace in the State. The ECI has announced that elections for the 182 assembly seats in Gujarat will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5. The counting of votes will be taken up on December 8. Close on the heels of the announcement of dates for the assembly polls, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal announced a former TV journalist, Isudan Gadhvi, an OBC, as the CM face of his party. Gadhvi was chosen through public opinion in which 73 percent supported him to be the CM face. Gadhvi is the national general secretary of AAP. Kejriwal has asserted that AAP will certainly win the Gujarat assembly elections. AAP has already released the list of 118 candidates for the polls. The party is poised to play a crucial role in the polls giving sleepless nights to both the BJP and the Congress. Meanwhile, upset reportedly over not being made AAP's chief ministerial candidate, former legislature Indranil Rajguru on Friday quit the party and joined Congress. He alleged that the Kejriwal-led party has been functioning as a "B-team" of the BJP in the state. Also on Friday, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge chaired a meeting of the party's central election committee (CEC) during which several candidates for the Gujarat polls were finalised. Subsequently, the party released the first list of 43 candidates. The Congress has fielded former Gujarat Congress chief Arjun Modhwadiya from Porbandar, Himanshu Patel from Gandhinagar South and Hiteshbhai Vora from Rajkot South. Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi joined the meeting online, while the rest of the participants attended it physically at the AICC headquarters in Delhi. For the BJP, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday chaired a meeting of top Gujarat BJP leaders, including Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, to deliberate on the potential candidates for the polls. The BJP has been ruling the state since 1995. Though the party has an anti-incumbency factor working against it, the absence of a solid, united opposition can be counted as one of the advantages for the saffron party. A report however points out that the BJP's seat tally has been declining in each election since 2002. The Deccan Herald reports that BJP's seat tally has gradually come down to 99 in 2017 from 127 seats in 2002. In 2007, the party won 117 seats while in 2012 it won 116 seats. Between 1962 and 1985, Gujarat remained with the Congress. (With inputs from PTI)