Page 3 - Gujarat Assembly

Gujarat assembly polls: BJP likely to finalise all candidates today

The BJP's top leadership will on Wednesday deliberate upon the candidates for Gujarat assembly polls, where the party is eyeing a win for the seventh time. The BJP's central election committee, also comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party president JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, will meet here in the evening to finalise the candidates. Elections in Gujarat will be held in two phases -- December 1 and 5. The BJP is likely to finalise all 183 candidates during the meeting and may announce the list in the next few days, sources said. Aiming to set a new record in terms of share in seats, the party is looking to inject new energy into the organisation. Hence, the possibility of dropping out several senior leaders cannot be ruled out, they said. The sources also said the party has received suggestions that it should opt for new and young faces. In the fiercely fought 2017 elections, the BJP had won 99 seats and its main rival Congress 77. Currently, the BJP's stre

Mohan Singh Rathwa quits Cong, joins BJP ahead of Gujarat election

Days ahead of the assembly elections in Gujarat, veteran Congress Party leader and 11 times MLA Mohan Singh Rathwa, a prominent tribal leader joined BJP after quitting from the Congress.

Gujarat polls: Bharatiya Tribal Party announces candidates for 12 seats

The Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) on Sunday announced its first list of candidates for 12 Assembly constituencies in Gujarat, including nine Scheduled Tribe (ST) reserved seats. BTP's Gujarat president Ramesh Vasava said the party will field its candidates on all the 27 ST-reserved seats across the state for the next month's elections. The party had won two seats in the 2017 polls in the state. Apart from nine ST-reserved seats for which it declared the candidates, the BTP also announced its nominees for Karjan, Jambusar and Olpad, the seats for general category candidates. The remaining nine seats are - Bhiloda, Jhalod, Dahod, Sankheda, Nandod, Vyara, Nizar, Dang and Dharampur. "Apart from 27 tribal-reserved seats, we will also field our candidates on seats having 30 to 40 per cent tribal voters, such as Ankleshwar and Olpad," Vasava said. At present, the BTP has two seats in Gujarat Assembly - Jhagadia in Bharuch and Dediapada in Narmada district. While BTP's founder Chhotu Va

Gujarat Assembly polls: Banks directed to report suspicious transactions

In view of the upcoming Assembly polls in Gujarat, the Election Commission (EC) has directed all banks in the state to keep a watch on suspicious transactions of more than Rs 10 lakh in the accounts, officials said on Sunday. The banks have been instructed to also report transactions of more than Rs 1 lakh in the accounts opened by poll candidates, they said. As per the EC's guidelines, poll candidates cannot spend more than Rs 40 lakh during campaigning and they have to open a separate account for that purpose. All the transactions above Rs 10,000 must be done through cheques, RTGS (Real-Time Gross Settlement) or drafts, a senior state official said. To convey these instructions, nodal officers of the expenditure monitoring cells in all 33 districts of Gujarat convened meetings with senior bank officials in the last two days, said Sahdevsinh Solanki, accounts officer at the office of Gujarat's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO). "As per guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India and the E

Gujarat Assembly polls: PM to address rally in Valsad district on Sunday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a public meeting in Valsad district of poll-bound Gujarat on Sunday and attend a mass marriage programme in Bhavnagar, a BJP functionary said on Saturday. This will be the first visit of the prime minister to his home state after the elections were declared by the Election Commission. PM Modi will address a rally in Nana Pondha in Valsad district on Sunday afternoon. He will attend a mass marriage function in Bhavnagar in the evening, BJP spokesperson Yagnesh Dave said. Elections will be held in Gujarat in two phases on December 1 and 5. The counting of votes will be taken up on December 8. The poll contest will be triangular in view of the Aam Aadmi Party's entry into the fray. In the 2017 elections, the BJP had won 99 seats and the Congress 77 of the total 182 seats.

Gujarat Assembly polls: Congress announces first list of 43 candidates

The Congress on Friday released its first list of 43 candidates for the Gujarat Assembly elections scheduled to be held in two phases on December 1 and 5. According to the list released here, former Gujarat Congress chief Arjun Modhwadiya has been fielded from Porbandar, Himanshu Patel from Gandhinagar South and Hiteshbhai Vora from Rajkot South. The list was declared after candidates' names were finalised during a meeting of the party's central election committee (CEC) chaired by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge here. Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi joined the meeting online, while the rest of the participants attended it physically at the AICC headquarters here. The Congress is seeking to oust the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from government in the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where the saffron party has been in power for more than two decades. Elections to the 182-member Gujarat Assembly will be held in two phases -- December 1 and 5 -- and the votes

AAP releases seventh list of 13 candidates for Gujarat Assembly polls

The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday released its seventh list of 13 candidates for the upcoming Gujarat Assembly elections, taking the number of nominees whose names the party has declared so far to 86. The list was released by the party's state unit president Gopal Italia. Elections to the 182-member Gujarat Legislative Assembly are due by the end of this year. However, the poll schedule is yet to be announced. Ten out of these 13 seats are currently held by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), while the opposition Congress holds three others. Two seats - Kadi and Kalavad - are reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates, while three - Sankheda, Mandvi and Mahuva are reserved for Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates, he said. The candidates include a retired government officer, doctor, lawyer and industrialist, Italia told reporters. The seats on which the names of candidates were announced on Friday are Kadi (SC), Gandhinagar (North), Wadhwan, Morbi, Jasdan,

Kharge chairs Congress Central Election Committee meeting for Gujarat polls

Mallikarjun Kharge, who on Wednesday took over as Congress president, chaired a meeting of the party's Central Election Committee (CEC) to finalise candidates for the Gujarat assembly polls

BJP plays the freebies game to match AAP's goodies for the Gujarati voters

The prelude to the polls also saw mega projects unveiled by the Centre and the handing out of a few sops to match the breathless pace at which AAP has promised an array of goodies to voters

Himachal goes to polls on November 12; announcement for Gujarat later

A new actor in Himachal Pradesh is the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)

EC holds meetings in Gujarat to review preparedness for Assembly polls

A team of the Election Commission of India held a series of meetings with Gujarat director general of police, chief secretary and other senior officials during its three-day visit to review the situation in the state for the Assembly polls. Elections in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled Gujarat are due later this year. A team of nine senior officials appointed by the ECI visited Ahmedabad between Friday and Sunday and reviewed preparations for the state elections, a government release said. On Saturday and Sunday, the ECI team held a review meeting with Gujarat Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) P Bharathi on poll preparedness in the presence of district election officers, commissioners and superintendents of police. They discussed in detail various topics related to voters' roll and special summary revision, electronic voting machine (EVM/VVPAT), minimum facilities at polling stations, manpower, transportation, law and order, security, training and capacity building, the release .

AAP vote share in Gujarat up by 4% post CBI raid on Sisodia, says Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said the Aam Aadmi Party's vote share in Gujarat has increased by 4 per cent after CBI raids against his deputy Manish Sisodia. This vote share will increase by 6 per cent if he is arrested, the AAP national convener said during a discussion on the confidence motion in the Delhi Assembly. "The CBI raided Sisodia, went to his village and searched his bank locker. CBI people said they did not find anything against him but are under pressure to arrest him," Kejriwal claimed. The prime minister has given a "certificate of honesty", he said. "The AAP's vote share has increased by 4 per cent in Gujarat after CBI raids against Sisodia. It will increase by 6 per cent if he's arrested," the chief minister said. Attacking the BJP, he said the saffron party leaders tried to buy AAP MLAs but none of his legislators accepted their offer. "Absolutely corrupt party lacks educated people while 'hardcore honest' party has those with good education,

Shankersinh Vaghela launches party, will contest assembly polls in Gujarat

Veteran politician and former Gujarat chief minister Shankersinh Vaghela on Sunday floated a new party, Praja Shakti Democratic Party. His party will contest the upcoming assembly elections in Gujarat

Gujarat Congress is going to merge with BJP soon: Arvind Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that Gujarat Congress will soon merge with the Gujarat BJP unit as they have "love brewing" between them.

Gujarat cooperative movement surely a matter of pride, says Amit Shah

Union Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the cooperative movement in Gujarat is a matter of pride, and spoke about how other countries were surprised by the turnover figures of Amul.

Will Guj Assembly be dissolved for poll announcement, Kejriwal asks BJP

In a tweet, the AAP national convenor also wondered if the BJP was so much scared of his party that it plans to hold elections in the state much ahead of the schedule

BJP govt to present last budget of poll-bound Gujarat on March 3

This will be the BJP government's last budget before the Assembly elections scheduled to be held in December

New Gujarat govt remains election-focused as it nears 100 days in office

The government has also been aggressive in securing the rural and agrarian vote

Gujarat polls: Cong assures farm loan waiver, Covid compensation if elected

The kin of nearly 3 lakh people "who died of COVID-19" in Gujarat will be given a compensation of Rs 4 lakh if Congress forms the government after polls, a senior party leader said

Nimaben Acharya becomes 1st woman Speaker of Guj Assembly

Senior BJP MLA Nimaben Acharya became the first woman Speaker of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly on Monday. The opposition Congress supported Acharya's nomination for the post, following which she was elected unopposed as the new Speaker on the first day of state Assembly's two-day monsoon session which began here on Monday. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel proposed her name for the Speaker's post and Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani gave consent on behalf of the Congress, which has 65 MLAs in the 182-member House. "For the first time after the formation of Gujarat in 1960, the state Assembly has a woman Speaker. I congratulate her on behalf of the entire House," Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said. Acharya assured the House that she will try to fulfill her new responsibility to the best of her ability. The Speaker's post fell vacant after Rajendra Trivedi resigned on September 16 and joined the new state cabinet led by CM Bhupendra Patel. Trivedi is currently holding c