My Columns: Without Fear and Favour

Gujarat elections 2017 Guns and Gangs rule Gandhi’s Porbandar By Deepak Parvatiyar Article courtesy Marathi daily Pudhari Mahatma Gandhi’s birthplace wears an old city look and lacks modern infrastructure. With limestone, port and tender mafia ruling the roost in the district for years, the ironically became synonymous with gangs and guns. Noted gangsters late Santokhben Jadeja, whose life had inspired the award winning Bollywood film Godmother , and her brother-in law, dreaded gangster late Bhura Munja, whose life was believed to have inspired yet another Bollywood blockbuster – the Amitabh Bachchan starrer Agnipath – had in the past represented the Kutiyana assembly seat of the Porbandar district. Satokhben’s son Kandhal Sharman Jadeja had won the Kutiyana seat in 2012 as a Nationalist Congress Party candidate. He also had the support of the Congress party then. This time again, he is seeking reelection as an NCP candidate and faces opposition from BJP’s Lakshman Odeda

Gujarat Assembly Elections 2017 Which way will Surat vote? By Deepak Parvatiyar*   Surat: Last Sunday in Patel dominated Varachha area of Surat over a lakh strong crowd surged to the rally of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti leader Hardik Patel. Many had ‘Sardarvanshi’ printed on their T-shirts and many more sported the PAAS cap. They put on their mobile phone torchlights when he administered them the oath of not voting for the BJP. Such a show could impact election outcome in as many as five of the 16 assembly seats in Surat district– Varachha, Kamrej, Olpad, Kakodara and Karanj. In 2012, the BJP had won 15 of the 16 assembly segments in Surat district. The only seat in the district where the Congress could win was the Schedule Tribe reserve seat of Mandvi from where Parbhubhai Vasava had defeated his nearest BJP rival Hemlataben Vasava by a margin of 24,394 votes. This time the Congress has fielded Anandbhai Chaudhari against the BJP’s Anand Chaudhary from the Mandvi (ST