Key Constituencies: Kapadvanj Vaghela extends support to former BJP minister in his stronghold

Key Constituencies: Kapadvanj

Vaghela extends support to former BJP minister in his stronghold

By Deepak Parvatiyar

Kapadvanj is the constituency that was represented by Shankarsinh Vaghela. This time neither Vaghela nor any one from his new front – Jan Vikalp Morcha, is contesting the seat. This despite the fact that Vaghela has fielded candidates in over 100 seats in the state.

Vaghela was elected as a Congress candidate from Kapadvanj,that falls  in country’s richest Kheda district, in 2012. He had then defeated his nearest BJP rival Kanubhai Dabhi by a margin of 6597 votes. This time, after Vaghela quit the Congress, many had expected him to keep Kapadvanj either for himself or for his son Mahendra. That he totally skipped his constituency is attributed to his support to independent candidate Bimal Shah, a former BJP minister. Shah had quit the BJP after the party renominated Dabhi. In 2012 too, he had quit the BJP over Dabhi’s nomination as the party candidate. At that time he had joined Keshubhai Patel’s Gujarat Parivartan Party, extended support to Vaghela, and rejoined the BJP in March 2014.

Vaghela himself has given an excuse of  having no time to contest the polls and he and Mahendra were busy building the new party. He has publicly extended his support to Shah who had twice won from Kapadvanj on BJP ticket earlier.

Kapadvanj has 45% Kshatriya population and has been a stronghold for Vaghela. He had also represented the Lok Sabha seat from Kapadvanj before it ceased to exist after the implementation of delimitation of parliamentary constituencies in 2008.

That year, too, Shah had quit the BJP after the party had fielded Dabhi. Shah joined Keshubhai Patel’s Gujarat Parivartan Party, extended support to Vaghela, and rejoined the BJP in March 2014.

Besides Kapadvanj, the Vaghela-led front — his Jan VikalpMorcha and its ally All India Hindustan Congress Party — has not fielded candidates in any constituency where the BJP has fielded those Congress MLAs who had joined the BJP following the Rajya Sabha polls in August.