Bharuch To Witness 'Vasava' War: BJP Veteran And AAP Emerging Leader In Poll Battleground
Bharuch is one of the important Lok Sabha constituencies for the BJP and the INDIA Alliance. Despite being a general seat, Bharuch has a sizeable population of tribals. After the contentious discussions over seat sharing, Bharuch was allocated to the Aam Admi Party (AAP). Both the BJP and AAP nominated tribal candidates. AAP nominated 36-year-old young Turk Chaitar Vasava, the incumbent MLA of Dediapada. Meanwhile, the BJP fielded the sitting MP and the veteran Mansukh Vasava. Mansukh Vasava has been the MP of Bharuch since 1998. He is contesting for his seventh term in the same constituency.
As Mansukh Vasava has been selected from Bharuch for the past six terms, he has grass-roots connections in the constituency. Since the first victory of the Janata Party in 1989, they have not lost any elections. In the last two elections of 2014 and 2019, the BJP has raised its vote share from 51.8% to 55.47%. The BJP secured six out of seven seats in the recent assembly election.
Meanwhile, AAP has entered the political landscape of Gujarat by securing five seats in the recent assembly election. Bharuch is one of the two seats of the AAP in Gujarat. The incumbent MLA of Dediapada, Chatiar Vasava, has a political track record spanning a decade. He is a first-time legislator from one of the two tribal assemblies of Bharuch and the only non-BJP MLA from Bharuch.
The constituency is all set to witness a dual war. The INDIA bloc and BJP are in an attempt to consolidate the major tribal votes. Bharuch was a stronghold of Congress from 1951, with a winning streak that extended even through India’s emergency period, until 1984. Ahmad Patel, a prominent Congress leader, represented the constituency for three terms. Descendants of Ahmad Patel explicitly expressed their concern regarding the seat sharing; they argue to retain the legacy of Ahmad Patel by retaking the seat from Congress.
The INDIA bloc has hopes of regaining the constituency from the BJP. Though the assembly seat is sacrificial, the INDIA bloc is making an attempt to regain strength in Bharuch as well as in the Central seat.
(This story is part of a Timeline. internship project.)
