Guj Assembly polls: BJP workers protest over candidate selection for Bayad, Patan seats

Ahmedabad, Nov 14 (PTI) Hundreds of Bharatiya Janata Party workers gathered at the party's headquarters in Gandhinagar on Monday to protest against the selection of candidates for Patan and Bayad Assembly segments in Gujarat, which will go to polls on December 1 and 5.

While former BJP MLA Bhikhiben Parmar has been given a ticket from Bayad, the candidate for Patan is yet to be announced, though speculation is rife the party will choose Banaskantha native Dr Rajul Desai, a former member of National Commission for Women as well as Gujarat State Child Rights Commission.

Protesting BJP workers said Desai is an "outsider" to Patan residents, adding the ticket should be given to those who belong to the area, such as former MLA Ranchhod Desai or leader KC Patel.

A segment of protesters was supporters of former Bayad MLA Dhavalsinh Zala, who won the 2017 elections on a Congress ticket but switched to the BJP in 2020. He, however, lost to Congress' Jashu Patel in the subsequent bypoll.

His supporters said Zala must be given a chance again by BJP in the upcoming polls.

The protesting workers sat in the garden of the party headquarters till evening and left after BJP general secretary Pradeepsinh Vaghela assured them he will communicate their demands to the leadership. PTI PJT BNM NSK NSK