New Delhi: Former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani and ex-deputy CM Nitin Patel on Wednesday announced that they would not contest the assembly elections to be held next month.
They wrote a letter to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president expressing their decision to distance themselves from the election.
Notably, eight ministers in Gujarat have decided not to contest the state polls.
“I worked as a CM for five years with everyone's cooperation. In these polls, responsibility should be given to new workers. I won't contest the polls, I sent a letter to seniors and conveyed it to New Delhi. We will work to make a chosen candidate win,” news agency ANI quoted Rupani as saying.
Senior BJP MLA Bhupendrasinh Chudasama also said that he will not contest the elections. "I will not fight the assembly elections and have conveyed my decision to the party. I've decided that other workers should get opportunities as well. I've fought the elections nine times till now. I express my gratitude to the party," he said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will soon chair a core committee meeting of the Gujarat BJP where names of possible candidates will be discussed. The meeting will be attended by all senior Gujarat BJP leaders, including Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
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Notably, polling will be held on December 1 and 5 for 89 and 93 assembly constituencies in Gujarat, respectively. The counting of votes for both the phases will take place on December 08.
The saffron party is confident of getting a sixth straight term in the elections, while Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will be looking to make inroads.