Gujarat bypolls: Cong, BJP candidates file papers

Congress and BJP candidates, including Alpesh Thakor of the ruling party, on Monday, filed their nomination papers for the October 21 by-elections to six Assembly seats in Gujarat.

They were accompanied by senior leaders of their respective parties when they went to submit nomination papers to election authorities.

Monday was the last date for filing nominations, and the two parties announced names of most of their candidates late on Sunday.

The Congress, in fact, announced the names of candidates for Radhanpur and Tharad Assembly seats on Monday.

By-elections have been necessitated in Radhanpur and Bayad following the resignation of former Congress MLAs Alpesh Thakor and Dhavalsinh Zala, who later joined the BJP, which has fielded them from their respective seats.

Tharad, Lunawada, Kheralu and Amraiwadi are the four other seats for which by-elections will be held on October 21.

These seats fell vacant after their sitting MLAs of the BJP were elected to Parliament in the April-May polls.

While Gujarat BJP president Jitubhai Vaghani accompanied Thakor when he went to file his nomination, senior Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia accompanied Raghubhai Desai, the opposition partys candidate for Radhanpur.

Both Vaghani and Modhwadiya addressed gatherings at Radhanpur during the filing of nominations.

Gujarat Home Minister Pradipsinh Jadeja accompanied Zala, who filed his nomination from Bayad.

State Congress president Amit Chavda was present when party nominee Jashubhai Patel, pitted against Zala, submitted his nomination form.

In Lunawada, Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani of the Congress accompanied party candidate Gulabsinh Chauhan when he went to file his candidature form.

The BJP has nominated Jivrajbhai Patel, Alpesh Thakor, Ajmalbhai Thakor, Dhavalsinh Zala, Jagdish Patel and Jignesh Sevak, as its candidates for Tharad, Radhanpur, Kheralu, Bayad, Amraiwadi, and Lunawada seats, respectively.

The Congress has nominated Gulabsinh Rajput, Raghubhai Desai, Babuji Thakor, Jasubhai Patel, Dharmendra Patel and Gulabsinh Chauhan, for these seats, respectively.

Nominations will be scrutinised on October 1 and a candidate can withdraw from the fray by October 3. Results will be declared on October 24.