AHMEDABAD: While the former Matar MLA Kesrisinh Solanki returned to the BJP fold within 48 hours of joining AAP, workers and supporters of MLA Jankhana Patel took to the streets in Choryasi in Surat on Saturday after BJP replaced Patel with Sandeep Desai as it announced the Second Candidate list of six people for the state legislative assembly elections to be held in December.
The data reveals that Jankhana Patel won the seat with one of the highest margins recorded in 2017. She won by a victory margin of over one lakh votes. She is the second-highest-margin winner after CM Bhupendra Patel.
In Surat, the saffron party is witnessing some serious dissatisfaction over workers' post-seat allocation.
BJP Leader of Surat Yajuvendra Dube said “Hindi-speaking Voters and Koli community voters are dominating in the Choryasi seat. Jhankhna Patel belongs to the Koli community. Even though she won by a record margin, her name is dropped from the list. We are not able to understand the reason,”
"Even if the party wants to change the candidate then the ticket should have been given according to caste equations. Perhaps because of this, there is resentment among the local BJP leaders, " he added.
Similarly, in Varachha, Kumar Kanani received workers' disaffection. After BJP fielded Bhagha Barad, the Congress turncoat from Talala, the party workers have not taken it happily.
In Khambhat sitting MLA Mayur Raval faced resistance as he embarked upon campaigning after being repeated. BJP has also dropped sitting MLA and Former Minister Vibhavari Dave from Bhavnagar East constituencies.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has so far announced 166 candidates in two lists while 16 candidates are yet to be announced. The suspense for names on some key constituencies had continued even as the party tried to balance gender, caste and socioeconomic equations.
Sources maintain that the party's high command is facing an intense tug-of-war over the seats which is leading to a delay in publishing the names of the candidates.
Gujarat will go to polls in two phases on December 1 and December 5 and the counting of votes will be done on December 8.