AHMEDABAD: As the election season gears up in Gujarat with the election commission announcing the date for filing nominations from April 12 to 19, the Congress is yet to disclose the candidates for four crucial seats in the state.
The Congress initially intended to contest former MLA and Patidar leader Lalit Kagathara to challenge BJP candidate Purusottam Rupala in the Rajkot Lok Sabha constituency.
However, amid recent controversy with Rupala commenting on the Kshatriya community and the following protests demanding his candidacy withdrawal, Paresh Dhanani, the former opposition leader of the Congress, has expressed his willingness to enter the electoral fray.
Dhanani had previously refused to contest the elections, however, sources suggest that his readinss now comes after the mounting opposition against the BJP candidate Rupala.
Meanwhile, Congress is also struggling to choose a candidate for the Mehsana seat which is considered to be a BJP bastion for several years.
The party aims to experiment by fielding an OBC candidate against the BJP's Patidar candidate.
However, internal divisions within the Congress are hindering this decision. With one faction of the party favouring Patidar candidates, another is advocating for OBC representation.
Moreover, the Vijapur By-Election, which falls within the Mehsana Lok Sabha constituency, will also influence the selection for the Mehsana seat.
If Congress selects a Patidar candidate for the Vijapur Assembly seat, then Congress will likely nominate an OBC candidate for the Lok Sabha seat to maintain demographic balance.
For the third seat, Navsari Lok Sabha, several party leaders, including Mumtaj Patel, daughter of the late Mr. Ahmed Patel, Surat Congress spokesperson Naishad Desai, and Navsari Congress leader Shailesh Patel, are said to be expressing their interest in contesting.
However, the party is yet to finalize a candidate as it is one of the hottest seats in the state. BJP has chosen its state president CR Patil to contest from the Navsari Lok Sabha.
Patil secured this seat with the largest margin in India prompting the Congress to strategize and nominate a formidable contender to challenge him.
The last and final seat without a Congress candidate is the Ahmedabad East Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat.
Rohan Gupta, the president of the Congress's social media department, was selected as the party's candidate for the seat but Gupta shifted to the BJP.
The Congress is now facing difficulty in finding the right candidate for the Ahmedabad East Lok Sabha seat. With this, sources revealed that the party is contemplating nominating either the city Congress president, Himmatsinh Patel, or a candidate from the Patidar community.
