Does the poll violence in Rajkot West indicate that it would be hard for Chief Minister Vijay Rupani to retain his assembly seat?
The attack on Congress candidate Indranil Rajyaguru's younger brother Divyanil, allegedly by BJP workers; the ruckus outside the CM’s residence in Rajkot; and the arrest of two Congress candidates in the district have affected the BJP’s chances.
The BJP, for the first time, has begun to feel the heat in the constituency it has been winning since 1985. In the 2014 bypoll, Rupani won by a margin of over 23,000 votes against the Congress candidate. The victory margin, some say, is probably too big to be overturned. However, Rajyaguru, who now represents Rajkot East in the assembly and is the richest candidate with declared assets of Rs 141 crore, is capable of springing a surprise.
Rajyaguru decided to leave his safe seat and contest against Rupani because he felt the chief minister was the “wrong person” for the post. “Goons elected from Gondal, Kodinar and Bhavnagar not only became MLAs, but also ministers in the Modi government,” says Rajyaguru. “Rupani is occupying the chief minister's seat and my first duty is to stop him.” When told about Rupani's clean image, he retorts, “You ask that to the people of Rajkot.”
His aides say Rajyaguru decided to take on Rupani the moment he was made the chief minister in 2016. Sources in the Congress said the party found him the right person to take on Rupani. Rajyaguru also played an important role in keeping the flock together when the party faced a crisis in the run-up to the Rajya Sabha elections in August.
Rajkot West has about three lakh voters, of which about one lakh are Patidars and Brahmins. The Congress is banking heavily on Patidars voting against the BJP. Rajyaguru's camp feels that the Brahmins, too, would vote for him, as he belongs to the community.
Even before the elections were announced, Rajyaguru distributed pamphlets with his personal mobile numbers on it. He also set up 'Team Indranil', which organises the programme called 'Coffee with Congress' where voters can come, have coffee and snacks, and ask him questions.
Rajyaguru says he has not lost a single election since his schooldays and is confident of winning this time, too. Said Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi: “The fact that Modi visited the area four times is an indication that Rupani is feeling insecure.”
With both Rupani and Rajyaguru campaigning relentlessly, the heat is building up. Their children are also part of this fierce battle. Rupani's son Rushabh, who is studying at Nirma University in Ahmedabad, has shifted base to Rajkot. Rupani’s wife, Anjali, too, campaigns for him. Rajyaguru's daughter Darshnil manages the social media campaign of her father.
