Gandhinagar, Sep 26 (IANS) The BJP, Congress and Aam Aadmi Party stepped up their preparations for the Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation (GMC) elections on Saturday as the deadline for filing nomination papers ended, with the three parties announcing candidates for the remaining wards of the 44-seat civic body.
The BJP completed its candidate list by announcing candidates for the remaining seats after initially naming 32 candidates for eight wards. The party has now announced candidates for all 44 seats across the 11 wards.
The Congress also released its remaining candidates on the final day for filing nominations, completing its list for the civic contest.
AAP, which had earlier announced 29 candidates, said on Saturday that 41 of its candidates had filed their nomination papers.
The party said its candidates included doctors, lawyers, engineers and social workers and that it had given priority to young leadership and workers who had been associated with the organisation for several years.
The AAP candidates filed their nominations under the leadership of Gujarat in-charge Gopal Rai, state president Isudan Gadhvi and state organisation general secretary Manoj Sorathiya.
The party said its candidates had been raising civic issues concerning Gandhinagar, and its workers were campaigning across the city. The BJP has also fielded a former Congress corporator from Ward 3.
The corporator had been among the two candidates elected on Congress tickets in the 2021 GMC polls. Both Congress councillors subsequently resigned from the party in March 2024 and joined the BJP, according to reports.
The latest candidate announcements come as the three parties prepare for a contest in the state capital, where the BJP had won 41 of the 44 seats in the 2021 GMC elections.
The Congress had won two seats and AAP one. Both Congress councillors later joined the BJP, taking its tally in the civic body to 43. The GMC election covers 44 seats across 11 wards.
The Gujarat State Election Commission issued the election notification on September 21, with September 26 set as the last date for filing nominations.
Scrutiny of nomination papers will be held on September 28, while candidates can withdraw their nominations until September 29.
Polling will be held on October 11 from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., with counting scheduled for October 13. Re-polling, if required, will be held on October 12. The election will be conducted through electronic voting machines.
With the nomination process now closed, the scrutiny and withdrawal stages will determine the final list of candidates before campaigning intensifies for the election.
–IANS
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