AHMEDABAD: In Gujarat, political parties are bracing up for selection of candidates for the upcoming local body polls. The polls will be held on April 26 and counting of votes would be taken up on April 28.
Sources indicate that the Congress has already zeroed in on 20 candidates for the Rajkot Municipal Corporation.
Newly appointed AICC co-in-charges are holding marathon meetings at the Congress headquarters in Ahmedabad, Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan, to finalise the party's candidates list.
Discussions are ongoing for candidate panels across nine municipal corporations. The first official list is expected to be announced on Sunday, and within just four days, Congress aims to roll out its entire list of candidates in phases.
Gujarat Congress President Amit Chavda made it clear that this time, the party is tightening its filters. “All preparations for the local body elections are complete. A detailed review has been conducted at every level. Importantly, we have discussed not giving tickets to individuals with criminal backgrounds. Every claimant has been heard from districts to talukas and panels have been prepared after thorough local consultations,” he said.
Chavda further said, “The first list will be announced on Sunday. Panels have been finalised through discussions among district and taluka leaders. From April 4 to 7, detailed deliberations will take place across all districts, after which the final seal will be placed on candidates. Today, discussions are focused on panels from around nine corporations.”
Meanwhile, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said that the party will field 529 candidates in Gujarat. His scheduled public meeting at JP Chowk, right in front of the BJP office, is being seen as a symbolic and strategic move.
Owaisi also slammed the Gujarat Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill, 2026, which was tabled in the legislative assembly in March.
“When the Constitution was being framed, Babasaheb had said UCC would not be imposed. What is being presented here is not a true UCC; it’s limited to Gujarat and resembles a copy-paste of the Uttarakhand bill. Many people don’t even know what the report contains. This is being brought in the backdrop of local elections,” Owaisi said.
He added, “Certain communities and laws have been excluded, yet it is being applied broadly. That makes it anything but ‘uniform’”.