New Delhi : The Congress has claimed that following the announcement of its Gujarat candidates there was unease in the state BJP. The Congress strategists further claimed that the BJP would not be able to win all the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat that the saffron party had done in the 2014 and the 2019 polls.

According to party insiders, after BJP candidate from Sabarkantha seat, Bhikhaji Thakor, declined to contest the national polls, another saffron party candidate from Vadodara Ranjanben Bhatt has also withdrawn from the Lok Sabha election fight.

“The BJP will not be able to repeat its performance of the past two national elections. The people are angry with the ruling party. After we fielded strong candidates there was unease among the state BJP leaders. As a result, some of them have declined to contest the national polls and many more are likely to follow suit,” Congress Working Committee member and former Gujarat unit chief Jagdish Thakor told this channel.

According to the CWC member, the AAP was contesting the Bharuch and Bhavnagar seats as part of alliance and was expected to win both the seats while the Congress was set to get a few seats.

“I won’t speculate on the numbers but the INDIA alliance will certainly win several seats,” said Thakor.

The Congress has fielded four strong leaders and sitting MLAs for the Lok Sabha polls, including CLP leader Amit Chavda from Anand, Jennyben Thummar from Amreli, Anant Patel from Valsad and Gulab Sinh Chauhan from Panchmahal seats.

Amit Chavda, a former state unit chief and a five term MLA from Anklav assembly seat was fielded from Anand after veteran Bharat Sinh Solanki decided not to contest the polls.

Jennyben Thummar, Gujarat Mahila Congress chief, is the daughter of former MP Virji Thummar, who had won the Amreli seat in 2004 but was defeated in 2014.

Gulab Sinh Chauhan defeated BJP’s Jignesh Sevak by over 25,000 votes in the Lunawada assembly polls. AICC secretary Sonal Patel is set to challenge Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Gandhinagar. In Sabarkantha, the grand old party has fielded veteran Tribal leader Tushar Chaudhar. Prabha Kishor Taviyad will contest from Dahod seat.

According to Congress insiders, another reason for the alliance to be optimistic this time was the fact that the Congress and AAP combined vote share as per the 2022 assembly polls was 40 percent against 52 percent of the BJP.

“We have decided our candidates based on the party’s strength and feedback related to aspirants in the area. We have toned up the state organization after the poll loss in 2022. We will do well this time,” AICC secretary in charge of Gujarat Ram Kishan Ojha told this channel.

Earlier, Mumtaz Patel, daughter of Sonia Gandhi’s former political aide late Ahmed Patel had sought a ticket from the Bharuch seat but did not get the chance as the seat went to AAP. Now she has sought a nomination from the Navsari seat in the tribal region. “The high command will take a call on the remaining seats,” said Thakor.