Gujarat Assembly Elections 2022

BJP workers on Monday staged a protest at the party office in Gandhinagar while the workers of NSUI -- the students' wing of the Congress, vandalised the party state office alleging that a senior leader took bribe to re-nominate Imran Khedawala in Khadia-Jamalpur.

Of 33 candidates, 22 are sitting MLAs. Some of the prominent names in the list are Leader of Opposition Sukhram Rathva who would contest from Jetpur (ST seat), former GPCC president and sitting MLA Amit Chavda (Anklav seat), Sailesh Parmar, Deputy Leader of Congress Legislative Party (Danilimda seat), among others. The list also features two women candidates -- Chandrikaben Baraiya from Garbada (ST seat) and Geniben Thakor (Vav).

The six seats from which the saffron party has announced the candidates in the second list will go to polls on December 1. The candidates, who were able to make it to the second list of the BJP, are Mahendrabhai Padlia from Dhoraji, Mullubhai Bera from Khambhalia, Dhelibehan Maldebai Odedara from Kutiyana, Sejal Rajiv Kumar Pandya from Bhavnagar East, Hitesh Devji Vasava from Dediapada and Sandeep Desai from Choryasi.

Recently, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar had stressed on inducement-free elections while announcing the schedule of Gujarat polls citing the significant amount of seizures made in Himachal Pradesh.

Their announcement came before the BJP's Central Election Committee meeting began in New Delhi. Rupani was first to inform media that he is not going to contest and has informed party's state and national leadership that he is not interested in contesting elections.

Chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the meeting was attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Gujarat BJP Chief C.R. Patil, BJP National President J.P. Nadda, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister Bhupender Yadav and former Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, among others.

PM Modi indirectly hinted that under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, his party should win the maximum number of seats, breaking all old records of Modi himself (127 seats in the 2002 Assembly polls). Addressing a public rally at Nana Pondha in Valsad district, he launched a new slogan: "I made Gujarat", on how each Gujarati has contributed to the development and progress of the state in the last 20 years.

Ministers from the Yogi Adityanath government are being deployed in Gujarat for the election campaign. The Assembly elections in Gujarat will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5. The BJP has been in power in Gujarat for 27 years and this is the first time that the ruling party faces a double challenge from the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Besides, the party in the national capital has also used 'Angadia Pedhi (traditional courier service)' to send cash to Gujarat. Levelling allegations against the AAP, Congress spokesman Pawan Khera said, "Till Friday evening, Indranil Rajyaguru --who was AAP's internal man --, told Congress leaders that on October 1, when Delhi Chief Minister and Punjab Chief Minister landed at Rajkot airport, they were carrying bags full of cash. Asked how they manage to bring in such a huge amount, they gesture that the money was brought by flight."

According to the schedule, voting for 182 member Gujarat assembly will take place in two phases on December 1 and December 5, 2022. The results will be announced on December 8, 2022. In the first phase,i.e. December 1, 89 seats will go to polls. On December 5, polls for the remaining 93 seats will be held. According to the EC, over 4.9 crore total electors will cast their vote, on over 51,000 polling stations.