PM Modi holds roadshow in Gujarat’s Rajkot
People showered flower petals on the PM who greeted and waved to the supporters as he walked to the venue.
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani is contemplating to change his seat from Rajkot to Wadhwan.
Rupani’s apprehension regarding Rajkot is not misplaced as the Congress is all set to field Indranil Rajyaguru as its candidate from the seat. Rajyaguru is considered to be a tough candidate with a record of being aggressive in his campaigns.
Indranil Rjayaguru has already been campaigning in Rajkot for several months and has been highlighting the shortcomings of the Rupani government. His aggressive campaign against Rupani has shrouded the dependency of Rajkot as a safe seat for BJP chief minister under a cloud of suspicion.
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Wadhwan which has been represented by BJP MLA Varshaben Doshi has won the seat in 2007 and 2012. The seat is considered a safe seat for BJP and hence Rupani is keen on contesting from here rather than facing formidable Rajyaguru.
Rupani’s fear also stems from the fact that Rajkot has a sizable Kadva Patidar vote bank, who are firmly against BJP due to Patidar reservation agitation. The second largest voter group is that of Rajputs who may not be siding with BJP en masse and their votes may split.
The road to Wadhwan, however, is not going to be easy for Rupani as another BJP heavyweight IK Jadeja, who currently is spearheading the Swarnim Gujarat Committee as an Executive Chairman with a cabinet minister’s status and representing Dhrangadhra Constituency, is also said to be interested in contesting from Wadhwan.
For the opposition Congress party also, the decision is a tough one. Apart from Indranil Rajyaguru, the Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi too has shown interest in Wadhwan as the constituency has a sizable Jain community that he belongs to.
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