Anandiben Patel will not contest Gujarat Assembly elections, cites age as reason

Anandiben Patel will not contest the upcoming Gujarat Assembly elections.

Pic Courtesy: @anandibenpatel

Ahmedabad: Senior BJP leader and former Gujarat CM Anandiben Patel wrote to party president Amit Shah on Monday saying that she does not want to contest the upcoming state Assembly elections.

In a letter, dated October 4, she cited her age - 75 - as the reason behind her decision, while urging that meritorious and winnable candidates be fielded.

Anandiben Patel writes to BJP Pres Amit Shah, stating that in place of her new people must be given a chance to contest 2017 Gujarat polls. pic.twitter.com/TB7doOG12A — ANI (@ANI) October 9, 2017

She has represented Ghatlodiya constituency since 1998 and was part of the Gujarat Cabinet from 2002 to 2007 and then 2007 to 2014.

Anandiben was elevated as the Gujarat CM in 2014 when she had replaced Prime Minister Narendra Modi after BJP’s victory in the Lok Sabha polls.

She was the first woman CM of the state.

Anandiben resigned in August 2016 in the wake of the Bharatiya Janata Party`s drubbing in the 2015 local self-government elections and the Patidar agitation.

Vijay Rupani was then made the CM.

She joined the BJP in 1987 and became a legislator in the late 1990s. 

The BJP bagged 117 seats in 2007 and 116 seats in 2012 Assembly elections.