Parshottam Rupala to file LS nomination today
Updated: Apr 16th, 2024
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is going all out to solidify its backing of its embattled candidate from Rajkot, Parshottam Rupala, as he files his nomination papers for the Lok Sabha 2024 elections today.
The saffron party has planned a public gathering, which will be followed by a roadshow. Prominent local leaders, including former chief minister Vijay Rupani and former assembly speaker and BJP stalwart Vaju Vala, are expected to be present.
A win in these elections will mark the Lok Sabha debut of the Union minister for fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying, if Rupala manages to hold the traditional BJP bastion when Gujarat votes on May 7.
However, Rupala has been in the crosshairs of Rajputs–who make up a large chunk of the voter base in Rajkot–since March 24, when he suggested that the community had bowed before the British. His many subsequent apologies have not smoothed ruffled feathers.
Rajputs from across Gujarat, as well as from states including Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, gathered en masse in Rajkot’s Ratanpur on Apr 14, to condemn Rupala’s statement and demand that the BJP cancel his candidature.
Notably, the Congress has positioned Patidar stalwart and former leader of the opposition Paresh Dhanani against Rupala for the Rajkot Lok Sabha seat. Recently, social media has been abuzz with Dhanani’s poems criticising Rupala and the BJP.
Also read:
BJP declares star campaigners for LS and bye polls in Gujarat
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