Six BJP rebels figure in Congress' second list for Guj polls

Agencies Posted: Nov 21, 2007 at 0000 hrs
Ahmedabad, November 21: Names of six BJP rebels figure in the second list of 19 candidates released by the Congress party for the first phase of Gujarat assembly polls to be held in the state on December 11.

Congress has given ticket to BJP rebel Dhirubhai Gajera and five others, an AICC release said in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.

Gajera who won on the BJP ticket from Surat City North, will this time contest as a Congress candidate from the same constituency in South Gujarat.

The other BJP rebels from Saurashtra region whose names figure in the list are Babubhai Tanti (Dhari constituency), Becharbhai Bhadani (Lathi), Bavkubhai N. Undhad (Babra). All the three had won the 2002 assembly elections on the BJP tickets from the same constituencies.

Two others -- Gopalbhai Dhua (Mundra--SC) and Narendrasinh Jadeja (Abdasa) are rebel leaders from Kutch and had won as BJP candidates in 2002.

The Congress' second list has three sitting MLAs namely Shivji Ahir (Bhuj), Popatbhai Zinzariya (Chotila) and Laxman Patel (Pardi--ST).

The party had on Tuesday, in the first list, retained 19 sitting MLAs among the 62 candidates named. In the list released on Wednesday, the Congress has replaced Nimaben Acharya with V K Humbal for the Anjar constituency of Kutch.

Nimaben had resigned from the Congress and would be contesting on the BJP ticket.

In the place of Manish Gilitwala (MLA from Surat City East), who quit the Congress to join BJP, the Congress has given ticket to Praveen Chandra Harilal Changawala.

The Congress is yet to name six more candidates for the remaining seats for the 87 assembly constituencies going to polls on December 11 in the first phase.