Naranpura seat, which is dominated by Patels and Jains, is likely to back ruling party; constituency has around 80,000 upper caste voters It is difficult to call Naranpura a BJP bastion as the constituency came into existence only after 2008 delimitation. So far, the region has seen just the 2012 assembly election. The seat, which is dominated by the upper caste (both Patels and Jains have around 40,000 votes each) voters, is likely to back the ruling party. BJP national president Amit Shah won the seat in 2012 by a margin of 63,335 votes. He resigned as an MLA of the Gujarat assembly in August 2017 after he was elected to the Rajya Sabha. Shah shifted to Naranpura in 2012. Until then, he had been elected from Sarkhej constituency. Naranpura seat constitutes areas taken from the Sabarmati constituency. Naranpura constituency comprises Naranpura ward, Stadium and Nava-wadaj. A completely urban seat, the constituency is a combination of mostly upper-class and middle-class voters (Naranpura and Stadium areas) except for some part of Nava Wadaj which is home to a big slum- Ramapir No Tekro. Despite the presence of a large section of Patel's, the area saw only minor skirmishes even during the Patidar reservation agitation. During the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) elections, all the 12 seats that fall under the constituency voted for BJP corporators, a proof that the ruling party enjoys people's support. Gautam Shah, the mayor of Ahmedabad, whose name is touted as one of the probable candidates of the BJP for the seat, said Amit Shah has nurtured his constituency well. "Development work worth crores of rupees are being done in the constituency. While some are in the pipeline, others have been finished. Around 7,700 homes will be built under the smart city programme for the people of Ramapir no Tekro, one of the biggest slums in the city," Shah said. New water tanks have been built, water and drainage work, worth Rs67 crores, have been made in the constituency, he added. "Of the 11 new urban health centres planned in Ahmedabad, one is in Naranpura. We have also planned a sports sankul for the constituency. The development work alone shows how much Amit Shah cares for his constituency," said Shah. "BJP will not only win the seat but be victorious with a stupendous margin," he added. Not everyone is impressed. Jitu Patel of Congress, who contested against Amit Shah in 2012, said the quality of development work can be known by just looking at the roads. "The roads are so poor. One rain and it washes away. Another problem is the high property tax in this area. The government makes a show of giving something and then snatches it through high taxation," said Patel, who does not plan to contest in this election. The BJP also needs to worry about the influence of Hardik Patel on Patel voters here not to mention the impact of GST. WHAT THE COMMON MAN SAYS The potholed roads are the biggest problems. I have been living here for over a decade. The condition of roads has only worsened. The MLA keeps making promises, but the results are never seen. The only time some work is done is when a politician is expected to visit the place. — Kalyani Jadawala, Student The biggest concern is the stray cattle in the area. It leads to other problems such as the area is very dirty. Politicians remember us only during elections. Moreover, GST and demonetisation have ensured that there is no “ease of doing business” for the small businessman. —Kalpesh Bhatia, Businessman The area that I live in has a big menace of mosquito breeding. An MLA needs to visit his voters and interact with them and ask them their problems. However, that doesn’t happen. Personally, I faced a lot of difficulties during demonetisation. —Geeta Mehta, senior citizen Naranpura is one of the best areas in the city. I’m happy with the development of the area. However, the condition of roads in some places is pathetic. As someone who manages home, I can say that price of vegetables has risen. The fuel price has also increased drastically. —Nupur Desai, Homemaker Drainage has been an issue here for sometime now particularly during heavy monsoon. The other problem is of traffic. Demonetisation and GST were impleme -nted shoddily. There has been no great improvement that the country has seen, instead there is economic slowdown. —Ankita Vashi, Banker

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