Surendranagar/Gandhinagar, April 10 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday named farmer leader Raju Karpada as its candidate for the Muli-2 seat of the Surendranagar District Panchayat, within 24 hours of his formal induction into the party.

The move has intensified political activity ahead of the local self-government elections.

Karpada, a young farmer leader from the Saurashtra region and a former office-bearer of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s farmer wing in Gujarat, joined the BJP on Thursday after resigning from the AAP earlier this year.

Speaking at the time of his induction, he said he had taken the decision to work “more effectively for the welfare of farmers in the state”.

The party announced his candidature for the Muli-2 constituency soon after, fielding him as a new face in the district panchayat elections.

The swift decision has led to heightened discussion in political circles in Surendranagar, with party workers expressing enthusiasm over his nomination.

Karpada had earlier come into prominence after leading an agitation in Botad against the ‘Kadada practice’, during which he was arrested last year.

Following his release, he distanced himself from the AAP before formally joining the BJP.

The BJP has in recent days accelerated the announcement of candidates across Gujarat following internal deliberations, as it seeks to consolidate its position in local bodies.

A day prior to Karpada’s candidature, the party had declared candidates for 52 seats across 13 wards of the Surendranagar Municipal Corporation.

In a parallel development, former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Manoj Ninama, who also joined the BJP on Thursday, was fielded by the party from the Odh district panchayat seat in Shamlaji taluka of Aravalli district.

Ninama, a Gujarat-cadre officer who last served as Inspector General of Police in the traffic branch in Gandhinagar, took voluntary retirement shortly before his scheduled superannuation.

He is a native of the Aravalli district in North Gujarat and joined the BJP at Shamlaji in the same district.

His entry into politics, along with Karpada’s induction, comes amid heightened political mobilisation in the state ahead of elections to multiple local bodies, including municipal corporations, district panchayats and taluka panchayats scheduled later this month.

–IANS

mys/uk