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Rutam Vora
In the backdrop of five State Assembly election results, all eyes are now on Gujarat’s Jasdan Assembly constituency, where the ruling BJP is set to face the test of the electorate under Congress’ OBC leader Kunvarji Bavaliya. The voting to take place on December 20, while results will be out on 23.
Five-time MLA from the Congress and now a Minister in Vijay Rupani’s Cabinet, Bavaliya is in a direct fight with Congress’ debutant Avasar Nakiya.
In the 2017 Assembly elections, Bavaliya had contested on a Congress ticket and won with a margin of 9,277 votes to BJP’s Bharat Bodhra. However, this July, Bavaliya resigned from the Congress to join the BJP.
Within hours of joining the BJP, he was made a Minister for Water Supply, Animal Husbandry and Rural Housing in Rupani’s Cabinet. For the BJP, Bavaliya’s joining was crucial to ensure support from the Koli community. Currently, Parshottam Solanki — the tallest Koli leader in the BJP — has been out of action due to weak health. This necessitated the support of Bavaliya.
Confident of victory
Bavaliya said, “There will be no impact of the recent poll results on my winning prospects. I have been connected with the people of this region for years and worked for them. I am confident of winning and serving the people of my constituency,” Bavaliya told media persons in Jasdan on Wednesday.
The constituency has about 22-27 per cent Koli votes, followed by Patidar being the second largest voter group. Political observers maintained that the fight to Jasdan constituency has largely been fought on caste equations. And the party with a Koli candidate has won. But this time, after many years, it is going to be Koli against Koli in Jasdan.
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