Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel dismisses AAP challenge in Assembly polls

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], March 28 (ANI): Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel exuded confidence in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) winning the Assembly elections in the state which will be held later this year.
Previously, the poll battle in Gujarat used to be a contest between the BJP and Congress. But the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is all set to contest the upcoming polls in Gujarat following its landslide victory in the recently held Punjab Assembly polls.
Speaking to ANI, Patel said, "Any party, be it AAP or any other, can contest elections. It is part of our democracy. When it comes to the BJP, we do not work for the polls. A lot was said about the AAP in the corporation elections in Gandhinagar, but they were wiped out while the BJP secured 41 out of 44 wards."
The Chief Minister while stating that it is too early to tall about elections said that the AAP is only in posters. "India has a vibrant democracy and if people decide to give just a few seats to the Opposition in Gujarat, whether to AAP or Congress, is to be seen. The BJP remains the consistent choice of the people in the state. We will continue to work hard but our track record proves that we are the best choice for the people of Gujarat as we seek our sixth term," he added.
The Chief Minister said every worker in the BJP draws inspiration from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"What is natural that every worker of the party draws inspiration from Prime Minister Modi. We are only trying to take his work forward. Nobody wants to nor can ever step into his shoes," he said.
In September last year, the then sitting Chief Minister Vijay Rupani had made the way for Bhupendra Patel as the BJP went for a complete state Cabinet recast.
"There has been a change of guard but the BJP is a party of discipline workers. Our government as well as the organisation work in tandem and not in silos. There is no lack of coordination between these two," he said.
In the 2017 Assembly elections, Congress had restricted the BJP to 99 Assembly seats. However, a number of Congress leaders later switched ranks to join the BJP, boosting its strength to 111 MLAs now in the House of 182. (ANI)