Ahmedabad : After reports that Gandhinagar MP LK Advani is likely to contest from Bhopal in next General Elections, it is being talked about that former minister of state Amit Shah may contest the Lok Sabha Elections from Gandhinagar.

This rumour stems from the planning Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and his team is busy with in New Delhi. Sources in the state BJP say though it is a little early to freeze plans for Lok Sabha Elections, leaders are busy preparing a strong base for what is believed to be a battle of survival for BJP nationally.

Also, for now, Modi plans to contest from Lucknow – Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s seat for five terms between 1991 and 2004. BJP president Rajnath Singh, it is believed, supports Modi in his plans.

“For a long time now, Amit Shah has candidly admitted to party members here that he wants to build his political career further in Delhi, and not Gujarat. Now that he has been made the general secretary in BJP, he does not want to be tied down to Gujarat Assembly, mandating him to spend time in the state. Besides, Gandhinagar is a safe seat for BJP consisting of mainly urban areas and Shah’s Assembly constituency Naranpura,” a senior source in the party said.

Another BJP functionary recalls that when Shah was away from state because of court orders, he realised that the next power centre in Gujarat after Modi is Revenue Minister Anandi Patel, Finance Minister Nitin Patel and Industries Minister Saurabh Patel – in that order.

“Besides, with the fake encounter case that Shah is an accused in, he will need political backing at the Centre to stay afloat – irrespective of whether it is the UPA or NDA government in power,” the source confided.