Lok Sabha elections 2024: 3 MLAs in Cong’s fresh list of 11 candidates for Gujarat

The declaration of the candidature of the former Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) chief from the constituency for his maiden Lok Sabha polls comes after Anand ex-MP and former union minister Bharatsinh Solanki recently pulled out of the race. Chavda, 48, is a chemical engineer and has been a five-term MLA from Anklav even as he won the state polls in 2022 by a whisker.

Gulabsinh Chauhan: Panchmahal

The Lunawada MLA, who defeated the BJP’s Jignesh Sevak by over 25,000 votes in the 2022 state polls, has been picked for the Panchmahal fight. Chauhan, 63, has also served as the chairman of the Mahisagar district panchayat.

Dr Tushar Chaudhary: Sabarkantha

The 58-year-old Khedbrahma MLA and tribal leader was elected as the Lok Sabha MP in 2004 from Mandvi and in 2009 from Bardoli. He also served as the minister of state for tribal affairs from 2009 to 2012 and later as the minister of state for road transport and highways until 2014. He lost the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Bardoli.

Kalusinh Dabhi: Kheda

In Kheda, the party has fielded former Kapadvanj MLA Kalusinh Dabhi, who had won the 2017 state polls by a margin of over 27,000 votes. Dabhi, 66, began his career as a sarpanch (village head) and also served as the president of the Kathlal taluka unit of the Congress.

Dr Prabha Taviyad: Dahod

One of the Congress’s most popular tribal faces, Dr Taviyad, 69, won the 2009 Lok Sabha polls after facing defeat in her first contest in 2004 against the BJP’s Babu Katara by just 361 votes. Taviyad also contested the 2014 and 2019 polls against the BJP’s Jaswantsinh Bhabhor but lost. Former vice-president of the All India Mahila Congress and currently an AICC secretary, Taviyad will take on Bhabhor yet again.

Sukhram Rathva: Chhota Udepur

After losing two heavyweight tribal leaders — 10-term MLA Mohansinh Rathava and Naran Rathwa — to the BJP in the last two years in Chhota Udepur, Congress has placed its confidence in former MLA Sukhram Rathva, 68, to fight the BJP’s Jashu Rathwa. Sukhram Rathva has also served as the former leader of the opposition in the assembly.

Nilesh Kumbhani: Surat

Kumbhani, 45, is a former Surat Municipal Corporation corporator. Kumbhani has contested two civic body polls as well as the 2022 assembly polls from Kamrej. He has been with Congress for more than two decades.

Chandanji Thakor: Patan

Patan, which has a significant OBC population, is set to see a contest between Congress’s Chandanji Thakor, 52, and BJP MP Bharatsinh Dabhi who will fight for a second term. A class 10 pass-out, Thakor is a former MLA from the Sidhpur constituency of Patan district.

Sonal Patel: Gandhinagar

Patel (62) is set to challenge Union Home & Cooperation Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah. An architect and town planner by profession, Patel is a veteran Gujarat Congress leader. She has also led the party’s women’s wing in the past. In 2022, she fought the assembly elections from the Naranpura constituency of Ahmedabad city and lost to BJP’s Jitendra Patel alias Jitu Bhagat. She is also the daughter of veteran Congress leader late Raman Patel. She is presently a secretary of the All India Congress Committee in charge of Mumbai and Western Maharashtra

Jenny Thummar: Amreli

The president of Gujarat Pradesh Mahila Congress is set to fight the Amreli battle. In the recent elections, the party has handed out poll tickets to the Thummar family four times. Jenny is the daughter of former Congress Amreli MP Virji Thummar. A farmer by profession, Virji had won the 2004 Lok Sabha election from Amreli. In 2009, Congress gave an election ticket to his wife Nila who lost to the BJP’s Naran Kachhadiya. In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Congress again fielded Virji but he was defeated by Kacchadiya. Virji won the 2017 state polls from Babra but lost the state polls in 2022 from the seat. Jenny, 45, who has studied political science in the United Kingdom, made her electoral debut by winning the Amreli district Panchayat election in 2015 as a Congress candidate. The BJP is yet to announce its candidate for Amreli

JP Maraviya: Jamnagar

Maraviya is one of the youngest party faces in Jamnagar, and is also the leader of the opposition in Jamnagar district panchayat.

Meanwhile, suspense continued over Congress’s candidates for Rajkot and Vadodara. In Rajkot, the BJP has nominated Union Minister Parshottam Rupala. Amid speculation that Congress might give an election ticket to Paresh Dhanani, GPCC chief Shaktisinh Gohil told The Indian Express, “The decision over selection of the candidate is still pending and it will be inappropriate on my part to comment if he is under consideration or not.” In Vadodara, the BJP has fielded sitting MP Ranjan Bhatt for a third term.