Gujarat elections: Morbi MLA among 5 ministers denied ticket in BJP

Five Gujarat ministers including the MLA from Morbi are among 38 sitting BJP members of the Assembly who have been denied ticket by the party for the upcoming state elections.

Minister of State for Labour and Employment Brijesh Merja, the legislator from Morbi where a bridge collapse incident last month claimed 135 lives, is among those dropped from the list of 160 candidates whose names were announced by the BJP on Thursday.

Gujarat Assembly Speaker Nimaben Acharya, who won from Bhuj seat of Kutch district in 2012 and 2017, has also been denied ticket this time by the party.

The BJP on Thursday released its first list of 160 candidates for the two-phase elections to the 182-member Gujarat Assembly to be held on December 1 and 5.

The party has fielded Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel from his constituency Ghatlodia and dropped a number of sitting MLAs.

From the present cabinet, the BJP has denied tickets to state Parliamentary and Legislative Affairs Minister Rajendra Trivedi, Socia