Gujarat Elections 2022: Will new faces help BJP buck anti-incumbency?

New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party today came out with its first list of candidates, fielding about 30 per cent of new faces in the forthcoming Gujarat Assembly polls. The move to deny tickets to several senior and sitting legislators comes as the saffron unit aims to create a feeling amongst the common people that anyone who is considered to be a non-performer will be denied a ticket by the party.

Names of 160 candidates out of a total of 182 were released by Union minister Bhupendra Yadav on Thursday. Those missing from the first list include former chief minister Vijay Rupani, former deputy chief minister Nitin Patel, former minister RC Faldu and senior leader Pradipsinh Jadeja.

The denial of tickets to such a large number of senior leaders is part of BJP’s strategy to reach out to people and create a perception that the saffron unit has not fielded any leader who was considered to be a non-performer. “Through this move, the party wants to tell voters that they should give another chance to the BJP and its new faces to serve Gujarat,” sources said.

Interestingly, aiming to end any anti-incumbency against the ruling government, the BJP had already changed its Chief Minister in the state, replacing Vijay Rupani with Bhupendra Patel.

A senior leader pointed out that the BJP was seeking its seventh consecutive term in Gujarat, and the saffron unit was trying hard to improve its performance in the forthcoming Assembly polls. The BJP wants to avoid a 2017-like scenario wherein the party could only secure 99 seats, its lowest-ever show in two decades, slipping to two digits in the 182-member assembly. Hence, the need for drastic measures and denial of tickets to almost one-third of sitting legislators, sources said.

BJP is not afraid of any rebellion, infighting

Despite a denial of tickets to several senior leaders in the forthcoming Gujarat Assembly polls, the saffron party is confident that it will not be facing any rebellion or infighting in the state unit.

The leadership of the party feels that the strong leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a powerful grip over the party’s affairs in the hands of Union Home Minister Amit Shah will ensure that it doesn’t face even murmurs of any rebellion.

Sources stated that unlike Himachal Pradesh, where the party has been facing the wrath of rebels for denying them tickets in the Assembly polls, the scenario is completely different in Gujarat.

“The state unit leadership owe their political existence to the Modi-Shah duo. They have worked closely with the top leadership of the BJP and will never go against their wishes,” sources said.

Not even a single leader would dare to go against party diktat. Any such move will be dealt with severely and also spell the end of the political career of the rebel, sources added.

Another party source pointed out that this was the reason to thwart even thought of rebellion that several of senior leaders, including former chief minister Vijay Rupani and former deputy chief minister Nitin Patel, were given the dignified way to exit active politics.

“That is why Rupani and Patel announced that they will not be seeking a ticket for the Assembly polls just hours ahead of the party’s central election committee met in the national capital,” sources added.

With Prime Minister Modi's irrefutable Gujarat connection, the BJP will leave no stone unturned to storm back to power in the state. Apart from making these strategic moves, the party is also hopeful that its traditional voters like the business and trading community and urban voters would continue to back the BJP government and provide it with a clear mandate again. Moreover, the saffron unit feels that Modi's magic will work wonders again and bring it back to power in Gujarat for an unprecedented seventh term.