573 candidates file nomination forms for 26 Gujarat Lok Sabha seats

AHMEDABAD: A total of 573 candidates have filed their nomination papers for the 26

Lok Sabha

seats in

Gujarat

, where elections will be held in a single phase on April 23.


The state will see a direct contest between the BJP, which swept all 26 seats in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, and the Congress, which has not entered into an alliance with any party.

The last date of withdrawal of nomination forms is April 8.

"A total of 573 candidates have filed their nomination forms for 26 Lok Sabha seats of the state. On the last day of filing nominations, which was Thursday, 313 candidates submitted their forms," additional chief electoral officer Ashok Manek said.

The scrutiny of the forms is underway, he added.

In 2014, the Congress had given the Porbandar seat to the NCP.

Among the main contenders this time are BJP national president Amit Shah from Gandhinagar, Union minister and

Dahod

MP Jasvantsinh Bhabhor, the Congress' leader of opposition in the assembly

Paresh Dhanani

and Babu Katara, a former BJP MP-turned-Congressman, who is an accused in a human trafficking case.