BJP had said that nepotism would play no part in candidate selection for the AMC elections, but in more than half a dozen cases, the sons, wives, nephews, or nieces of former councillors or former MLAs have entered the fray. These candidates became known on the last day of filing nominations, Saturday. From the Khadia ward, Pareshkumar Lalji Anand, the son of former mayor Lalji Parmar, has been nominated by BJP. Lalji Parmar served as the mayor from 1997 to 1998. Hetal Umang Nayak, the wife of Umang Nayak, who was a councillor from 2021 to 2026, has also been fielded as a Khadia candidate by BJP. Kranti Maulik Ashok Bhatt (Kranti Koumil Gandhi), the niece of former MLA Bhushan Bhatt, has been fielded by BJP from the Paldi ward. BJP has nominated Umedsing Yadav from the Kubernagar ward. Yadav’s mother, Kala Yadav, was a former councillor. Maulik Patel, the son of former councillor Atul Patel, has been nominated again from the Ramol-Hathijan ward. Gautam Patel was elected as a BJP councillor from the Isanpur ward in the 2021 elections, but after his demise, a byelection was held in which his son Maulik received the ticket and won. As for Congress, it has given a ticket to the son of a former councillor. Zulfi Khan Pathan is contesting as a Congress candidate from the Gomtipur ward. He is the son of former councillor Taufiq Khan Pathan.
