Mevani will contest from Vadgam, gets Cong support
NEW DELHI: Dalit activist Jignesh Mevani will contest the Gujarat polls from Vadgam seat in Banaskantha district as an independent candidate after the Congress tacitly left the seat vacant for him.
The opposition party also dropped four of its sitting legislators and fielded Other Backward Classes (OBC) leader Alpesh Zala (Thakor), popularly known as Alpesh Thakor, from Radhanpur constituency.
Out of the 93 seats going to polls in the second phase on December 14, the Congress left two seats for the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) of former Janata Dal (United) legislator Chhotubhai Vasava.
A Congress functionary said 12 candidates recommended by Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) leader Hardik Patel have been given the party symbol.
Mevani announced his candidature on social media on Monday, hours after the Congress released its third list of candidates for the polls just after midnight on Sunday.
Though the Congress did not officially confirm the move, it decided not to field any candidate from Vadgam, a seat reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SCs), and shifted sitting legislator Manilal Vaghela to Idar constituency in Sabarkantha district.
Congress leaders said this was done to avoid any division of anti-BJP votes.
For his part, Mevani has not announced his support to the Congress but requested other parties not to contest the seat. “Since the ruling BJP is our key enemy, I request aspiring candidates of other parties and independents not to file their papers, so that we can have a direct battle with the BJP. This is people’s battle against dictatorship and we will continue our fight after winning this election,” he wrote on Facebook.
Mevani, who shot to limelight after a Dalit family was publicly flogged by cow vigilantes for allegedly killing a cow last year, will be locked in a direct fight with BJP’s Vijay Chakravarthi.
Just after midnight on Sunday, the Congress released its third list of 76 candidates and then on Monday afternoon announced the fourth list of 14 contestants.
The previous two lists of 77 and 13 candidates respectively were announced on November 19 and 20. In all, 89 constituencies are going to polls on December 9.
The Congress announced the names of its candidates a few hours before the closing of nominations to avoid any backlash. Angry workers had attacked party offices at several places such as Surat after the announcement of lists for the first phase.
Four sitting legislators — Dharshi Khanpura (Kankrej),
JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT ON SUNDAY, THE CONGRESS RELEASED ITS THIRD LIST OF 76 CANDIDATES AND THEN ON MONDAY AFTERNOON ANNOUNCED THE FOURTH LIST OF 14 CONTESTANTS.
Hira Patel (Lunawada), Joitabhai Patel (Dhanera) and Natvarsinh Thakor (Mahudha) — have not been re-nominated.
Natvarsinh Thakor’s son, Indrajitsinh, will contest from his father’s seat.
Former Gujarat Congress president Siddharth Patel has been given ticket from Dabhoi seat in Vadodara district while senior high court lawyer Babu Mangukia, who had initially fought Hardik Patel’s sedition case, is the party candidate from Thakkar Nagar seat in Ahmedabad city.