Amid mounting internal dissent and factional tensions, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) braced for a potential backlash in Ahmedabad and other major cities ahead of declaring a list of candidates for the local body elections scheduled for April 26. Delays and disagreements prompted police deployment at the party's state headquarters, Kamalam, and its city office in Khanpur.
The election, covering more than 10,000 seats across districts and taluka panchayats, municipal corporations and municipalities, is the first since the announcement of increase in OBC reservation in local civic body polls in 2023, significantly reshaping political equations. The BJP has struggled to finalise candidates in key cities such as Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Rajkot, particularly over whether to retain sitting corporators or introduce new faces.
In Ahmedabad alone, around 5,000 aspirants had applied for tickets across 48 wards. However, internal rifts, lobbying by MLAs and last-minute recalculations based on likely opposition candidates delayed announcement of candidates.
To prevent unrest, heavy police deployment has been put in place at the Khanpur office, along with strict entry checks for party workers. In some wards, party leaders resorted to directly calling candidates to inform them of their selection in a bid to contain dissatisfaction.
Incidentally, the party has announced candidates for Vadodara, where 66 of the 76 sitting corporators were dropped in favour of new faces.
The fallout was visible with reports of internal discord in Aravalli, Rajkot, Junagadh, Kutch, Bharuch, Dahod and Panchmahal units of the BJP.
With the final day for filing nominations set for Saturday, more than 6,000 BJP candidates across the state are expected to rush to submit their forms, as party offices work through the night with legal teams and coordinators to complete documentation.