From Ravindra Jadeja's wife Rivaba to Hardik Patel, a look at BJP notables for Gujarat polls

The BJP on Thursday released its first list of candidates for the fast-approaching Gujarat polls. Slated to be held on 1 and 5 December, the polls are seen as a crucial battle in the run-up to the all-important 2024 Lok Sabha elections when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP will vie to make their third consecutive government at the Centre. The BJP’s list of candidates for the state it is seeking a sixth term in contains some interesting names. Let’s take a closer look at them: Bhupendra Patel Bhupendra Patel, the 17th Chief Minister of Gujarat, has been fielded from Ghatlodia. Born in Ahmedabad, Patel is a Patidar face and a first-time MLA from the Ghatlodia seat, a post previously held by Anandiben Patel. The Patidars are a dominant caste in Gujarat with a sizeable control over the electoral votes. The community also dominates the political economy with a stronghold over education, realty and cooperative sectors. The party is counting on Patel to navigate the party through tough waters during the upcoming assembly elections in 2022. In the 2017 state election, the BJP won 99 of the state’s 182 Assembly seats, Congress got 77 seats. Patel previously served as the Ahmedabad municipal councillor. Patel, who holds a diploma in civil engineering, also served as the chairman of the Standing Committee of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA).

He is also a trustee at Patidar organisations Sardar Dham and Vishwa Umiya Foundation.

Hardik Patel Hardik Patel, who joined the BJP in June just days after quitting the Congress, has been fielded from Viramgam. The 28-year-old Patidar leader, who led the quota agitation in 2015, joined the Congress in 2019. He resigned from that party on 18 May after claiming in a letter to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi that the party “only played to the role of a roadblock” over certain key issues in the country and was “merely reduced to opposing everything”. [caption id=“attachment_10690001” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Hardik Patel, the firebrand Patidar leader from Gujarat, resigned from the Congress on 18 May. PTI[/caption] Hardik was welcomed in the party by BJP Gujarat unit president C R Patil and former deputy chief minister Nitin Patel. “Today, I am going to start a new chapter keeping in mind the interests of the nation, region, society and community. I will work as a small soldier in the development work of the nation being carried out under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Hardik tweeted at the time. Kantilal Amrutiya The BJP has handed a ticket to its former MLA Kantilal Amrutiya Amrutiya returned to the spotlight after the deadly bridge collapse at Gujarat’s Morbi when videos of him jumping into the water to save victims went viral on social media. Amrutiya, better known as Kanabhai, had won from the Morbi Assembly seat in 1995, 1998, 2002, 2007 and 2012, according to Deccan Herald. “Most of the people in Morbi want to see Amrutiya as the BJP’s candidate. But even if Merja is selected, the BJP’s core electorate will eventually vote for him, because for them what ultimately matters is the party symbol,” local political analyst Ravindra Trivedi told the newspaper. Local grocery store owner Maulik Sanghvi added, “We have no problem with the BJP and its government. But Amrutiya was better than Merja. Amrutiya was an MLA for nearly 25 years and no one came close to his performance. He should be given the ticket because he is perfect for Morbi.” Rivaba Jadeja Rivaba Jadeja, the wife of the cricketer Ravindra Jadeja, has been given party ticket from Jamnagar North seat.

Jamnagar is the home town of Ravindra Jadeja.

Born on 5 September 1990, Rivaba studied Mechanical Engineering at the Atmiya Institute of Technology and Science in Gujarat’s Rajkot, as per India Today. She and her husband tied the knot on 17 April, 2016. Rivaba joined the BJP in 2019 ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Prior to that Rivaba was chief of the women’s wing of the Karni Sena, as per Indian Express. Rivaba has a knack of hitting the headlines. In September 2021, Rivaba was criticised by her sister-in-law Naynaba (a Congress member) for flouting COVID-19 protocols during a political event in Gujarat, as per News18. The Marathi news website Lokmat reported that Rivaba participated in a programme where several people gathered and flouted the pandemic guidelines. Rivaba was also not wearing her mask properly. In August 2020, Rivaba was in a spat with a police constable after she was caught not wearing a mask. In 2018, Rivaba was allegedly attacked by a policeman in Jamnagar following a collision between their vehicles. Harsh Sanghavi Gujarat home minister Harsh Sanghavi has been given a ticket from Majura. As per The Print, the 38-year-old Sanghavi holds nine portfolios in the Gujarat government — Home, disaster management & police housing; MoS in sports, youth and cultural activities, NRI, excise & prohibition, border security and prisons – the same as the chief minister. Sanghavi in 2012 made history as the youngest ever MLA – he was elected from Majura at just 27 years old. [caption id=“attachment_11604131” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Gujarat home minister Harsh Sanghavi gained fame for his work as an MLA during the COVID-19 pandemic. News18[/caption] Sanghavi was previously state chief of BJP Yuva Morcha. He is said to have worked closely with Anurag Thakur and Poonam Mahajan. He became one of the most high-profile BJP youth leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic by organising job fairs for unemployed youths, setting up book banks in his constituency Surat, and working in tribal areas, as per the report. Sanghavi in October made news for announcing that people will not be fined for violation of traffic rules during the Diwali festival. Addressing a gathering, Sanghavi said that in view of the Diwali festival, traffic police in Gujarat will not collect any fine from the violators till 27 October. The party named its candidates for 84 of the 89 seats which will go to the polls in the first phase on 1 December and 76 of 93 candidates going to the polls in the second phase on 5 December. Union ministers Bhupender Yadav and Mansukh Mandaviya were joined by Gujarat BJP president C R Patil at a press conference where Yadav named the candidates selected by the party’s Central Election Committee at its meeting on Wednesday. Yadav said the list includes 69 sitting MLAs, indicating that a large number of incumbent legislators has been dropped. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.