Gujarat: Six constituencies to see close fight

  • | Tuesday | 23rd April, 2019

BanaskanthaA close fight is likely between former Amul chairman Parthi Bhatol and minister and BJP candidate Parbatbhai Patel in the northern-most Lok Sabha seat of Gujarat. JunagadhJunagadh is another seat where the BJP is expecting a good fight, said a senior leader, requesting anonymity. Among other seats, BJP is also believed to have a clear advantage in Bhavnagar, Kheda, Bharuch, Mehsana, Porbandar, Kutch, and Valsad. The Congress is confident of giving a tough fight to the BJP in at least six seats in the state. A senior party leader said that it still has an edge over the BJP, but its prospects had dimmed because of Alpesh Thakor's defection.

As Gujarat votes on Tuesday, it is clear that the Lok Sabha elections will not be a one-sided affair like in 2014 when BJP swept all 26 seats. The Congress is confident of giving a tough fight to the BJP in at least six seats in the state. Anand In fact, the Congress is said to be the favourite to win the Anand Lok Sabha seat, from where former union minister Bharatsinh Solanki is pitted against industrialist and BJP candidate Mitesh Patel. A two-term former MP, Solanki had lost in the 2014 elections by a margin of 63,000 votes. He exuded confidence of winning when he said recently that Congress would not win a single seat in Gujarat if it did not win Anand. Amreli Amreli, from where leader of opposition Paresh Dhanani is contesting as the Congress candidate against MP Naran Kachhadia, is another seat the Congress expects to wrest from BJP. Dhanani, a three-term MLA, was picked as candidate from the predominantly rural seat, as the consensus candidate. The seat is dominated by Patidar community, and Congress had won five out of seven assembly seats that are a part of Amreli LS seat. A senior BJP leader, however, said that even though Congress was ahead in Amreli in 2017, the ruling party had turned the situation around. Junagadh Junagadh is another seat where the BJP is expecting a good fight, said a senior leader, requesting anonymity. BJP repeated MP Rajesh Chudasama from Junagadh, while Congress fielded senior MLA Punja Vansh as its nominee, for a repeat of the 2014 clash. Patan A good fight is also expected in Patan seat of north Gujarat, from where former MP Jagdish Thakor is pitted against BJP MLA Bharatsinh Dabhi. A senior BJP leader said that the Congress had its nose ahead in Patan until a few days ago, but Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor's rebellion had tilted the balance in its favour. "Not just Patan, Alpesh Thakor's decision to snap ties with Congress will also help us in Banaskantha and Mehsana," the senior leader said. Bardoli A keen contest is likely on the tribal reserved seat of south Gujarat. The BJP repeated MP Prabhu Vasava as its candidate from Bardoli, while Congress again nominated former union minister Tushar Chaudhary, who had won the seat in 2009, before losing in 2014. A Congress leader said that Chaudhary had managed to secure the support of many party and community leaders in his bid to be re-elected to the parliament, and would put up a good fight. "Tushar bhai has the edge in tribal areas, but the result would depend on how he does in the Patidar-dominated Kamrej assembly seat of Surat city. A strong show in Kamrej and he would be home," the leader said. Banaskantha A close fight is likely between former Amul chairman Parthi Bhatol and minister and BJP candidate Parbatbhai Patel in the northern-most Lok Sabha seat of Gujarat. Congress had won five of the seven assembly seats that are a part of the Banaskantha Lok Sabha in 2017. A senior party leader said that it still has an edge over the BJP, but its prospects had dimmed because of Alpesh Thakor's defection. "Parthi Bhatol's long stint in the dairy cooperative sector is his biggest strength. He is a well known and respected figure, and we are confident that he will win," said a party insider. BJP TO HOLD SWAY OVER URBAN SEATS The BJP is set to hold its sway over the urban Lok Sabha seats in the state. The party is the hot favourite to win Ahmedabad East and Ahmedabad West, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, and Jamnagar seats. Gandhinagar is another seat where the BJP is the clear favourite, and so is the case in Navsari seat, which covers a large part of Surat city. Among other seats, BJP is also believed to have a clear advantage in Bhavnagar, Kheda, Bharuch, Mehsana, Porbandar, Kutch, and Valsad. Surendranagar, Sabarkantha, Panchmahal, Dahod, and Chhota Udepur are the seats where BJP has an advantage, but the Congress is in with a chance.

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