BJP fields 1st Christian candidate in 20 years

SURAT: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Mohan Konkani will take on four-term MLA Punaji Gamit of the Congress in Vyara constituency in Tapi district, in the coming assembly elections.

Konkani, 48, is a Christian, and is the only one from the faith in the list of 89 candidates that the party has released for the first phase of the assembly election scheduled on December 1. He is also only the first Christian to be fielded by the BJP in the last 20 years. Analysts say his choice is not surprising. Vyara is dominated by tribals, and both Konkani and Gamit are tribals who converted to Christianity. About 45% of the 2.23 lakh voters in the Vyara constituency, a Congress stronghold, are Christians.

Gamit, has represented the Congress in the Vyara assembly seat since 2007. Konkani lives in Haripura village of Tapi district. By profession, he is a social worker and farmer, although he has been an active BJP member since 1995. He is currently the chairman of Tapi district panchayat, but this will be his first outing in an assembly election.

Konkani stressed his party’s “Sab Ka Saath, Sab Ka Vikas” platform: “As a protestant Christian and a member of the BJP, I have never felt that I am from a minority community.”

Of the 27 tribal seats in the 182member House, at least eight are from constituencies dominated by Christians. However, even the Congress has usually fielded only one candidate from the community. The BJP is hoping Konkani’s candidature will help it in the adjoining Nizar and Dang assembly constituencies — in both, the Christian population is around 35-45%. Congress has held both seats since 2007. All three constituencies are part of a forested and backward belt of the state where most of the people are tribals.