"Congress has lost ground, doesn't have mass base": Gujarat BJP OBC leader Alpesh Thakor

Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], November 17 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Alpesh Thakor, who the party has fielded from Gandhinagar South in the Gujarat Assembly polls, has exuded confidence in the party winning over 150 seats in the elections.
The BJP leader, who was earlier in Congress before 2019, also took on his previous party stating that it has lost ground in the state and none of its leaders has a mass base.
Thakor, one of the faces of the anti-BJP movement in Gujarat during the 2017 elections, joined the BJP in 2019. He had won on a Congress ticket in the 2017 Assembly elections but lost his Radhanpur seat in a bypoll in 2019. Today, Alpesh Thakor will file nomination papers as BJP's candidate from Gandhinagar South. His name was announced in the fourth list of candidates released by the party on November 14.
Speaking to ANI on Wednesday, Thakor said, "Gujarat elections are not a challenge for us. Lotus has won here in the past and lotus will win in the future. BJP will win more than 150 seats and form government here. We will win in Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad also."
"Those who say that Congress is working silently should know that they are misleading that they are working silently. Congress has no foundation, its leaders are fighting among themselves and they have lost ground. This is why Aam Aadmi Party is being discussed. Congress is not working, they are dismantled. They do not have a mass base," he added.
Exuding confidence in his own win in the upcoming elections, the BJP leader said that he does not have any political challenges here.
"I have won the hearts of the people here. The BJP workers have complete faith in me. I don't have any challenges here. I have thought about a lot of things to be done in the field of infrastructure, startups, and others. Once we win again, we will continue the work," he said.
Alpesh is being seen as an OBC face here and the people from the community have expectations of him, according to the sources.
When asked about this, he said that he will put in all his efforts to ensure that the rights of the OBC community are upheld.
"The policies that are in place for the OBC, I will try to implement them. I talk about the welfare of the Gujaratis. My effort will be to ensure that the rights of the OBC community are taken care of," he said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday released the fifth list of candidates for the upcoming Gujarat Assembly elections. In the latest list, the party announced three candidates for phase 2 of the Gujarat polls.
BJP fielded Sardarsinh Chaudhary from Kheralu constituency and Jayatibhai Patel from Mansa. Further, Mahendrabhai Bhabor has been given the ticket from Garbada (SC).
Earlier on Monday, the party released the fourth list of candidates mentioning 12 names for the Gujarat Assembly elections. The fourth list consisted of two women candidates.
BJP has fielded Lavingji Thakor from Radhanpur while VJ Jhala has been been given the ticket from Himatnagar. Alpesh Thakor has been fielded from Gandhinagar South.
BJP fielded Rajulben Desai and Ritaben Patel from Patan and Gandhinagar North respectively. Further, Babu Singh Jadhav will contest from Vatva.
The Assembly polls are scheduled to be held on December 1 and 5, while the counting of votes will take place on December 8. (ANI)