Gujarat polls: BJP fields first Christian candidate in 20 yrs from Cong bastion Vyara

For the first time in 20 years, the BJP has fielded a Christian candidate in the Gujarat Assembly elections from the Congress stronghold Vyara constituency. BJP’s Mohan Konkani will face four-time Vyara MLA Punaji Gamit of the Congress.

Vyara constituency is in Tapi district, a tribal-dominated area. Around 45 per cent of the 2.23 lakh voters in Vyara are Christians. The 64-year-old Gamit, a Christian convert, has represented Congress in the Vyara Assembly seat since 2007.

Konkani, 48, is from Haripura village in Dolvan taluka. He is a social worker and farmer, and has been a BJP member since 1995. In 2015, he defeated Congress’s cooperative leader Mavji Chaudhary in the Tapi panchayat election. He is currently the chairman of the Tapi district panchayat.

“Hindutva era has ended”

Asked about the BJP’s pro-minority stance in Vyara, Konkani was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying, “The Hindutva era has ended. Now it’s “Sab Ka Saath, Sab Ka Vikas.” He told the newspaper that he could talk to any government official in the BJP regime and have his concerns addressed.

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“I am indebted to the party’s high command and the BJP for their trust and faith in me. On December 1, I will make history in Vyara, and I am certain of it. The political atmosphere in Vyara has improved and I can count on the support of the constituency’s 72,000 Christian voters,” Konkani told Hindustan Times.

The 182-member Gujarat Assembly has 27 tribal seats. At least eight of them are Christian-dominated. Of these, 89 constituencies in Saurashtra, Kutch, and south Gujarat will go to polls in the first phase on December 1, while 93 seats in the north and central parts will vote on December 5.

BJP intensifies campaign

Senior BJP leaders, including the party’s national president JP Nadda, are expected to address public meetings on Friday in the constituencies going to polls in the first phase. Nadda will reportedly hold rallies in three places — Navsari, Ankleshwar, and Rajkot East.

Union minister Nitin Gadkari will also speak at three meetings, while fellow ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Anurag Singh Thakur will speak at four each. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his Madhya Pradesh counterpart Shivraj Singh Chouhan will address three and four rallies, respectively.

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Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union ministers V K Singh and Faggan Singh Kulaste are among other party leaders who will address rallies.

The BJP has won the Assembly polls in the state six consecutive times since 1995. This time, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is fiercely campaigning in a bid to break the party’s run.

(With agency inputs)