Gandhinagar, April 2: The bugle for Gujarat’s local body elections has been sounded. Polling for 10,005 seats across 15 municipal corporations, 84 municipalities, 34 district panchayats and 260 taluka panchayats is set for a single-phase showdown on April 26. All parties are in full swing selecting candidates — but the BJP’s much-awaited “Sense” (screening) process in Ahmedabad has already exploded into a massive controversy the moment it began!
Today, the BJP kicked off its candidate screening drive in Ahmedabad. Aspirants queued up to fill forms detailing their performance in the last three elections, win-loss records and previous positions held. The party’s Central Election Committee has also ruled that corporators above 60 years of age or those who have completed three terms will NOT be repeated — clearing the path for a flood of fresh faces.
But here comes the jaw-dropping twist! In Amraiwadi ward — the very place expected to see the MAXIMUM number of claimants — the official observers simply failed to show up on time. Since early morning, long lines of hopefuls had formed at Laliyawadi, yet the entire process ground to a dead halt because no one from the party turned up to conduct the screening. It was only at 12 noon that observers Pankaj Mehta, Chandrashekhar Dave and Rekhaben Dungarani from Sarasapur finally arrived, allowing the process to begin. The shocking delay has left dozens of angry aspirants fuming and openly expressing their displeasure.
In sharp contrast, Dariapur ward — the city’s largest minority-dominated area — saw over 50 male and female candidates turn up together, and the screening there went off smoothly without a single hitch.
The biggest shocker of all? Pin-drop silence at the BJP’s state headquarters “Kamalam”. The Congress and Aam Aadmi Party offices were equally deserted. An eerie calm had blanketed the entire city on a day that was supposed to be buzzing with political frenzy.
Is this embarrassing no-show proof of BJP’s internal chaos and mismanagement? Many ticket hopefuls have already begun venting their rage against the party. This single fiasco has ignited a fresh political storm even before the real election battle has heated up.
Stay tuned — more explosive updates coming!