20 new faces among 57 sitting BJP MLAs for 1st phase polls

New Delhi, Nov 18 (UNI) The Central Election Committee of the BJP will field 20 new faces among the 57 sitting MLAs for the first phase of the Gujarat Assembly elections scheduled for December 11, a top party source said.

Talking to newspersons, a BJP general secretary said the party had finalised 75 candidates among the 87 Assembly constituencies going to the polls in the first phase in south Gujarat and Saurashtra.

He said the list would have 20 new faces and the official party list would be out very soon.

The Election Committee meeting presided over by party president Rajnath Singh finalised candidates for 75 constituencies.

When asked for his reaction on the party dropping its 20 sitting MLAs from contesting, Mr Singh said the decision was made based on the survey reports of the central party and the anti-incumbency factor of individual MLAs. There were also some MLAs who opted out of the contest, he added.

UNI