New Delhi:
The fate of several prominent leaders, including BJP president Amit Shah, will be decided on Thursday, May 23, as the Election Commission announces results of Lok Sabha elections on 26 seats in Gujarat. A total of 371 candidates are in contest from 26 seats - Banaskantha, Patan, Mahesana, Sabarkantha, Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad East, Surendranagar, Rajkot, Porbandar, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Anand, Kheda, Panchmahal, Vadodara, Bharuch, Surat, Navsari. Of these, two are reserved for the scheduled caste candidates -- Kutch and Ahmedabad West, and four for scheduled tribe candidates -- Dahod, Chhota Udaipur, Bardoli, and Valsad. Below are the key candidates in the fray in Gujarat:
Gandhinagar (2014 Result: BJP, Winner: Lal Krishna Advani, Margin: 4,83,121)
2019 candidates: Amit Shah (BJP) Vs CJ Chavda (Congress)
Gandhinagar has been BJP's bastion since 1989. The saffron party has not lost the seat in last 30 years and its veteran Lal Krishna Advani represented the seat six times in 1991, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014. Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee also won the seat in 1996 when Advani chose not to contest due to Hawala scam. However, Vajpayee retained his Lucknow seat and left Gandhinagar which was again won by the BJP in a bypoll later. The Congress last won the seat in 1984. BJP president Amit Shah will contest his first Lok Sabha polls from Gandhinagar this time replacing Advani.
Anand (2014 Result: BJP, Winner: Dilip Patel, Margin: 63,426)
2019 candidates: Miteshbhai Patel (BJP) Vs Bharatsinh M Solanki (Congress)
Congress leader Bharatsinh Solanki will be pitted against BJP's Miteshbhai Patel from Anand. In 2014, BJP's Dilip Patel defeated Solanki by a margin of over 63,000 votes. Solanki represented the seat in 2004 and 2009. In the last seven elections, the Congress won the seat 5 times.
Ahmedabad West (2014 Result: BJP, Winner: Kirit Solanki, Margin: 3,20,311)
2019 candidates: Kirit Solanki (BJP) Vs Raju Parmar (Congress)
BJP candidate Kirit Solanki will again try to register victory in Ahmedabad West seat for the saffron party against Congress leader Raju Parmar. Solanki has been winning the seat since its inception after delimitation in 2009. Before the 2009 delimitation, BJP's Harin Pathak represented the Ahmedabad Lok Sabha seat six times in 1989, 1991, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2004. Pathak also represented the newly formed Ahmedabad East seat in 2009.
Bharuch (2014 Result: BJP, Winner: Mansukhbhai Vasava, Margin: 1,53,273)
2019 candidates: Mansukhbhai Vasava (BJP) Vs Abdul Shakur Pathan (Congress)
In 2014, Mansukhbhai Vasava won the seat for the BJP when he defeated Congress leader Jayeshbhai Patel by over 1,50,000 votes. Vasava has been representing the seat since 1998, when he won the byboll necessitated due to the death of Chandubhai Deshmukh. The BJP has never lost the seat since 1989. Ahmed Patel of the Congress won the seat in 1984 for the last time. Patel represented the Congress in 1977 and 1980 also. BJP's Chandubhai Deshmukh won the seat four times in 1989, 1991, 1996 and 1998.
