Gujarat will vote to elect its next government in two phases on December 1 and 5. The results will be declared on December 8. The BJP, Congress and AAP are the main contender. Along with them smaller parties like NCP and BTP too are in the fray. Let us take a look at parties contesting the poll.
BJP: The saffron party will battle anti-incumbency and slug it out with traditional rival Congress and aggressive new player Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) in the high-octane elections. Though the BJP looks strong in the state, the recent bridge collapse in Morbi in which 135 people were killed may have an impact on BJP's electoral fortunes.
If the AAP manages to win in some places, it could pose a challenge to the BJP. The saffron party’s seat tally has been declining in each election since 2002. It won 127 seats in 2002, 117 in 2007, 116 in 2012 and 99 in 2017.
Congress: The Congress, once a dominant political force in Gujarat, has lost the six previous Assembly elections in a row to the BJP since 1995 and hopes to regain past glory. Over the last 10 years many Congress leaders have deserted the party and joined the BJP. They include Patidar leader Hardik Patel and 16 Congress MLAs (between 2017 and 2022).
With only two states—Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh—in its control, the Congress is desperate for a victory in Gujarat Assembly elections.
Also Read | Will Congress break its losing streak against the BJP in Gujarat in 2022? A SWOT analysis
AAP: The Kejriwal-led party has come into the political arena with full force and has been attacking the Congress and the BJP at every rally. Kejriwal, Manish Sisodiya and Bhagwant Mann are the party’s star campaigners.
Kejriwal has a list of promises for the voters in Gujarat. He has promised free electricity of up to 300 units.Rs 3,000 monthly unemployment allowance and guaranteed a job to every youth in Gujarat.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP): The Sharad Pawar-led party and Congress have entered into a pre-poll alliance for the Gujarat Assembly elections, as part of which the NCP will contest three of the total 182 seats in the state.
In the 2017 Assembly elections, the two parties had contested the Gujarat elections separately. NCP's Kandhal Jadeja was the only MLA to win from the party. He represents the Kutiyana Assembly seat in Porbandar district.
Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP): Party founder Chhotu Vasava will not contest from his traditional Assembly seat Jhagadia in Gujarat's Bharuch district, from where he has won seven times in a row, and instead his son will be in the fray from the constituency in the next month's elections.
The BTP, which has pockets of influence in adivasi-dominated areas of the Gujarat, won two Assembly seats in 2017 when it fought elections in an alliance with the Congress. However, the regional outfit later severed ties with the main opposition party.
AIMIM: Competition to bag Muslim votes seems to be getting fiercer in the upcoming elections as the minority community now has several "secular" parties to choose from and vote for in the state.
AIMIM head and Lok Sabha MP Assadudin Owaisi has frequently visited Gujarat to garner Muslim votes. His party had said that it will fight 30 seats in Gujarat and has already declared six candidates.
(With agency inputs)