The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday announced its first list of candidates for the upcoming Gujarat Assembly elections. The polls will be held in two phases – on December 9 and December 14. The results will be declared on December 18.

The list has 70 candidates. Incumbent Chief Minister Vijay Rupani will contest from the Rajkot West constituency in Saurashtra, and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel will contest from the Mehsana seat. Gujarat BJP President Jitu Vaghani will contest from the Bhavnagar West seat.

The BJP’s Central Election Committee met party National President Amit Shah to decide the list. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Affairs Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj also attended the meeting.

Several Congress legislators who defected to the BJP during the Rajya Sabha polls have also been fielded.