AHMEDABAD: If Home Minister Amit Shah’s hectic schedule in Gujarat for the last two days is any indication, it would appear that the BJP is facing unusual resentment not seen for many years in the poll-bound state.
Sources said of the 178 nominations 12 were declared late Monday that the party has announced — at least 40 Assembly seats have come under ‘disputes’ between rival claimants. Elections for the 182-member Gujarat Assembly are due December 1 and 5. Meanwhile, BJP announced 12 more candidates on Monday. With this, the party has announced 178 candidates for the 182-member Assembly.
On Sunday, Shah remained engrossed in a series of meetings with various party leaders at the BJP office for more than four hours. On Monday, he reportedly discussed action plans centred on removing resentment among party leaders, party sources said. Given the prevailing mood, the party was trying to get in touch with the remaining 16 candidates through mobile phones.
On the other hand, the supporters of Dhavalsingh Jhala, whom the party has dropped from the Bayad constituency, are protesting at the BJP headquarters Kamalam. Similar is the case with the Patan constituency. The chaos within the party started as soon as the first and second lists of candidates were announced. Sources say if rival claims are not sorted out soon, then Shah will have to stay in Gujarat for three more days for damage control.
“On Sunday evening, Shah held a four-hour meeting at the state BJP office at Kamalam. CM Bhupendra Patel, Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, and general secretaries of four state zones were also present. Shah was working on a plan to cool down temperatures,” said a BJP leader. “In the meeting, Shah told the leaders in clear terms: People who are upset belong to the BJP family. Instead of putting pressure on them, act with understanding and love,” said a party source. According to a rough plan, a team of state leaders will hold one-to-one discussions with discontented leaders.