BJP keeps army of lawyers ready as deadline looms

Vadodara: The BJP kept an army of advocates and support staff ready at its office from Friday morning to complete nomination formalities within a tight deadline, following a delay in the declaration of tickets.The party's legal cell handles the preparation of nomination papers for BJP candidates. It ropes in lawyers who camp at the office to fill nomination forms and prepare affidavits and other documents. A prominent member of the cell, advocate Nehal Sutariya, said a team of more than 50 persons was on standby to ensure that nomination papers were readied on time with all required documents. He said the team included lawyers, 10 notaries, two stamp vendors and 10 typists. Sutariya said the formats for affidavits and similar documents were kept ready. "We are well-acquainted with the process, and it does not take a lot of time," he said. However, the task remains daunting as the team must prepare 304 sets of nominations. These include two sets for each candidate and two sets for each dummy candidate.