Will Modi contest from Gandhinagar?

Several names have done the rounds till now for the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat which is considered one of the safest for the BJP not only in Gujarat but also India. On Saturday, there was a strong speculation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may contest from the constituency in the upcoming LS polls.

Earlier, names of BJP President Amit Shah and former Gujarat CM Anandiben Patel were in circulation for Gandhinagar seat.

Names of Pratibha Advani, daughter of incumbent Gandhinagar MP L K Advani, and Anar Patel, daughter of Anandiben Patel, were also doing rounds.

BJP's veteran leader LK Advani, 92, is said to have declined to contest LS polls this time and Modi is likely to be chosen as his replacement. A top BJP source said, "Gandhinagar is such a LS constituency that even the statue of a BJP leader will win."

Regarding Amit Shah, sources said, "He is already a Rajya Sabha MP and his term is for six years. The party doesn't want to disturb him. If the BJP returns to power in 2019, he would be made a cabinet minister. He has been BJP president twice and can't be repeated third time as per party's constitution."

Another BJP leader said, "The situation in Gujarat is such that it would be difficult for BJP to once again win all the 26 seats. If Modi contests from anywhere in Gujarat, it will help BJP reach within striking distance of 26."

The source also ruled out the possibility of Modi contesting from Rajkot, as was reported recently. "PM would never choose to contest from Rajkot. You should remember that Kunvarji Bavalia won the seat in 2009 on Congress ticket. So, it is not a safe seat."

In 2014 polls, Modi won both from Vadodara and Varanasi. He retained Varanasi but resigned from Vadodara. Advani has been six-time MP from Gandhinagar. He first contested the polls from Gandhinagar in 1991 and won.

Gandhinagar has been the BJP bastion since 1989 when then BJP leader Shankersinh Vaghela contested and won the polls. After taking out nationwide Rathyatra in 1990 to build Ram temple at Ayodhya, Advani fought from Gandhinagar and won in 1991. Former Prime Minister A B Vajpayee won from Gandhinagar in 1996 but later resigned to represent Lucknow.

Chorus for national leader

Gandhinagar LS constituency includes Naranpura, Vejalpur, Sabarmati, Ghatlodia and Sanand Assembly constituencies which are all BJP strongholds. On Saturday, when the BJP observers met local legislators and workers to get sense about prospective party candidates from Gandhinagar, they asked for a "national leader" in one voice.

Meanwhile, BJP is likely to declare first list of LS candidates from Gujarat on Monday.