Shah says will contest, flip-flops

Former minister is out on bail in Sohrabuddin encounter case.

Hours after announcing that he would contest the December Assembly elections, former minister of state for home Amit Shah, who is accused in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Tulsi Prajapati encounter cases, on Sunday said his statement was misconstrued by the media.

"It is for the party (BJP) to decide whether to give me ticket or not," Shah said on Sunday night.

Earlier in the day, the MLA who is currently out on bail had appeared confident of getting a ticket of his choice and asserted that he would contest the election with full vigour.

"I will not only be contesting the elections, but I am going to win this time also with a comfortable margin," Shah told reporters at the Navratilova Sardar Patel Stadium after a meeting of executive committee of the Central Board of Cricket, Ahmedabad (CBCA).

Shah said he would be involved in every process of electioneering right from group meetings to addressing election and workers' meetings while seeking re-election. "I am very much active in the party electioneering in the state and I will also take part in every public activity," he said.

He had said he would contest from any of the five seats -- Sabarmati, Naranpura, Danilimda, Ghatlodia and Vejalpur -- carved out of the erstwhile Sarkhej constituency after delimitation. "I have not yet decided from which of these five to contest," said Shah.

"Last time, I had won from the Sarkhej Assembly seat with a margin of over 2.5 lakh votes. Now, after delimitation, it has been divided... I can win from any of these with comfortable margins," he said.

In September, Shah had returned to Gujarat after a gap of two years. The Supreme Court had allowed him to enter the state while rejecting a CBI plea to cancel his bail.

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