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Cricketer Ravindra Jadeja's wife, Rivaba, may get BJP ticket for Gujarat polls
Voting to fill the 182-member assembly will be held in two phases - December 1 and 5, with results to be announced December 8.
Cricketer Ravindra Jadeja's wife, Rivaba Jadeja, is a probable BJP candidate for next month's Assembly election in Gujarat, sources said Wednesday. Rivaba - who joined the BJP in 2019 - may replace a sitting candidate.
However, nothing is finalised, sources stressed.
The party is expected to announce a first list shortly. Home minister Amit Shah and party chief JP Nadda on Tuesday met the state unit's core group - which includes chief minister Bhupendra Patel and state unit chief CR Patil - in Delhi.
Today the party's Central Election Committee is scheduled to meet.
After joining the BJP three years ago Rivaba Jadeja reportedly sought a ticket from Jamnagar (North). The seat is held by the BJP's Dharmendrasinh Jadeja.
The BJP is expected to retain Gujarat and it plans to do so in style - to make a statement before other state polls next year and the 2024 election.
The party is looking to inject new energy into the organisation and this, sources told news agency PTI, could mean some senior leaders may be dropped.
In 2017 the BJP won 99 seats to the Congress' 77.
This time the contest is seen as triangular one (albeit still heavily in the saffron party's favour) with the entry of the Aam Aadmi Party.
READ | In Gujarat, BJP to win another term, AAP to beat Cong, says survey
Last week the first of the pre-poll surveys was released, with ABP's C-Voter giving the BJP an easy win. Over 56 per cent of the nearly 23,000 people asked said they planned to vote for the prime minister's party.
Only 17 per cent planned to vote Congress and 20 per cent for the AAP.
The BJP's hand was strengthened Tuesday after senior Congress leader Mohansinh Rathva - a 10-time MLA - quit and joined them.
He said he was 'impressed' by the work done by the BJP.
Voting to fill the 182-member Gujarat assembly will be held in two phases - December 1 and 5. The results will be announced December 8.
