New Delhi,
The BJP today released its sixth and final list of candidates for the 182-member Gujarat Assembly, announcing as candidate for Ghatlodia (the constituency of former CM Anandiben Patel) Bhupendra Patel – the chairman of the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority.

Speculations were rife that Anar Patel (daughter of the former CM who relinquished the top post on attaining the age of 75) was being considered as replacement for her mother’s constituency. Apparently, Anandiben, who has taken a backseat in these elections, was seeking a ticket for her daughter.

However, it seems BJP strategists, who are making Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s elevation as president of his party as an apt example of dynastic politics, did not want Ghatlodia to become a case study of political entitlement on their side.

Meanwhile, Bhupendra Patel is someone who is considered close to the former CM senior leader Kaushik Patel has been given the ticket from Naranpura – the constituency earlier represented by party chief Amit Shah and from where he resigned after election to the Rajya Sabha.

Investing all its might to slight the Congress in the two-phase elections on December 9 and 14, Shah personally supervised the detailing for these polls, say sources. Among other strategies, the BJP has also used his tested formula of micro-campaigning involving “panna pramukhs” — locals who know the area and people well. The “panna pramukh strategy” has been used by the BJP and the RSS in several elections, including in Uttar Pradesh and also previously in the Gujarat Assembly elections.