Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday arrived in Ahmedabad ahead of the crucial eight-seat Assembly by-polls in the State. This is his first visit to his home State since March 2020. His last visit to Ahmedabad was during U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit in the last week of February.
Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president C.R. Paatil and other party workers were at the airport to receive him.
Sources said Mr. Shah is expected to be in the State till October 17 on a private visit, and hence there was no official word on it.
Accompanied by his family, Mr. Shah is expected to pay a ritual visit his family deity’s temple in their native town of Mansa in north Gujarat on the first day of Navratri.
The Home Minister is also likely to hold meetings with party leaders, workers and key figures, including Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, and new party president Mr. Paatil.
By-elections for eight Assembly seats are scheduled for next month. An organisational revamp of the State BJP unit after Mr. Paatil took over is also on the cards.
The eight Assembly seats going for by-polls are — Abdasa, Limbdi, Gadhada, Dangs, Dhari, Morbi, Kaprada and Karjan. The by-polls were necessitated after resignations by Congress MLAs who switched sides. Five Congress MLAs had resigned in March and three in June this year in the run-up to the Rajya Sabha polls.
The ruling party has so far declared seven candidates for the polls, of which five were previously with the Congress. The Congress has so far fielded five candidates.
