Congress releases second list of candidates for Gujarat Assembly elections

The Congress released it second list of 13 candidates for the Gujarat Assembly elections on Monday night. The polls will be held in two phases – on December 9 and December 14. The results will be declared on December 18.

The new list replaces candidates in four seats following protests by Hardik Patel’s Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti. The two parties had clashed on Sunday night after the Congress announced its first list of 77 candidates for the elections, leaving only three seats for the Patidar outfit. Hours earlier, the two sides had said they had come to an understanding. The Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti is believed to have sought 20 seats.

In



its second list, the Congress has replaced Patidar leader Amit Thummar in Junagadh constituency with Bhikha Joshi, Nilesh Kumbai with Ashok Jirawala in Kamrej, Kiran Thakor with Jaish Patel for Bharuch seat and Praful Togadiya with Dhiru Gajera in Varachha Road. These areas reportedly have a considerable number of Patidar voters.

Following the clashes, Hardik Patel on Monday cancelled a rally he was scheduled to address in Gujarat’s Rajkot, where he was expected to announce his support to the Congress.

So far, the Bharatiya Janta Party has announced candidates for 134 of the 182 seats in Gujarat, a state which it has ruled for 22 years.