National
BJP announces Gujarat first list, includes 5 Congress defectors (Roundup)
Gandhinagar/New Delhi, Nov 17 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday virtually renominated all its sitting MLAs in Gujarat in the first list of 70 candidates it declared while giving tickets to five of the Congress MLAs who defected to it in August.
Significantly, the party has decided to field 16 Patels in the contest, in view of the fact that the party and its government in Gujarat have been facing an agitation by the Patidar community led by young leader Hardik Patel.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has been re-nominated from his traditional Rajkot West constituency, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel from traditional Mehsana seat, and state BJP chief Jitubhai Vaghani from Bhavnagar West. Earlier, Vaghani had refused to contest.
The first phase of Gujarat Assembly elections for 89 seats will be held on December 9 and for the remaining 93 on December 14. The results will be announced along with that of Himachal Pradesh assembly on December 18.
Contrary to speculations that many sitting BJP MLAs will be denied tickets this time, the party has dropped only three sitting MLAs. Varshaben Doshi has been dropped from Wadhwan, and instead the ticket was given to Dhanjibhai Patel (Mackson). Patel is an industrialist and considered a leading personality from the Patidar community.
Nalin Kotadia, who won from Dhari in 2012 on Gujarat Parivartan Party (GPP) ticket and later joined BJP, has also been dropped. The BJP has replaced him with four-time former MP Dileep Sanghani, who used to contest from Amreli that he lost to young Congress leader Paresh Dhanani in the 2012 Assembly polls.
In a bid to wrest Amreli from the Congress, the BJP has shifted Bavkubhai Udhad from Lathi in Amreli district to contest against Dhanani. Udhad is reckoned as a strong Patidar leader.
The BJP has also dropped Bhavanaben Makwana from Mahuva Assembly constituency in Bhavnagar district. Instead the party has given the ticket to her husband Raghvjibhai Makwana.
Although the party has dropped three sitting MLAs, it has repeated 49 sitting MLAs from their respective constituencies, while giving tickets to five Congress leaders who defected to BJP during the Rajya Sabha elections.
Of the remaining 13 candidates, five had lost in the 2012 elections, while the rest are new faces.
The five Congress defectors — Raghavjibhai Patel, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Ramsinh Parmar, Mansinh Chauhan, and C.K. Raulji — have been renominated in their constituencies. These Congress rebels had supported the BJP against Congress heavyweight Ahmed Patel in the Rajya Sabha election.
There are four women candidates in the list. They are Ramilaben Bara, Manisha Vakil, Sangita Patil and Vibhavariben Patel. Of them Ramilaben had lost the last election.
Surprisingly, contrary to speculations, both Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti members Varun Patel and Reshma Patel are not in the first list.
On Thursday afternoon, BJP President Amit Shah had summoned party leaders at the state BJP headquarters in Gandhinagar for a meeting, which continued till late night.
The meeting was attended by Vaghani, Deputy Chief Minister Patel, state Home Minister Pradeepsinh Jadeja and party leader Bhikhubhai Dalsania.
On Friday morning, the BJP chief met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior party leaders in Delhi as well as senior Gujarat leaders before announcing the first list.
–IANS
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Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.
The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.
Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.
For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.
During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.
Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.
Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .
Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.
In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.
In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.
He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.
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