Gujarat | Vav bypoll brings archrivals face to face in a battle of prestige

The by-poll to the Vav Assembly constituency in Gujarat has once again brought arch-rivals Congress MP Geniben Thakor and Gujarat Assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary face to face, though the two leaders are not contesting the polls but backing their respective aides.

The bypolls were necessitated after sitting Vav MLA Geniben became the lone Congress MP from Gujarat, winning from Banaskantha Lok Sabha constituency, in the 2024 general elections.

There are 10 candidates in the fray for the bypoll. However, the main contest is between Congress candidate Gulabsinh Rajput and BJP candidate Swarupji Thakor. Interestingly, both Rajput and Thakor had lost 2022 Gujarat Assembly polls. While Rajput was defeated by Shankar Chaudhary in Tharad Assembly seat, Thakor lost Vav segment to Geniben.

Also read: How ‘giant slayer’ Geniben Thakor battled odds, broke Congress’ 10-year jinx in Gujarat

Daunting task for BJP

“A lot is at stake for Shankar Chaudhary whom BJP has trusted once again with the charge of poll campaign. He was once the tallest leader of North Gujarat until he lost to Geniben in 2017. He was forced to contest from Tharad to avoid a defeat at the hands of Geniben again in 2022. He was one of the poll campaign managers of BJP candidate Rekhaben Chaudhary who lost to Geniben in the recent Lok Sabha polls. He has hardly been active in Banaskantha, his home district, since 2022. This is his chance to redeem himself,” said Manisi Jani, a Gujarat-based political analyst and sociologist.

In the 2017 Assembly polls, Chaudhary lost the Vav seat to Geniben. It was the first Assembly polls for Geniben, then 37, who broke the BJP’s winning streak in Vav. It was a humiliating defeat for BJP heavyweight Chaudhary, who had been an MLA since 1997.

In 2022 Assembly polls, Chaudhary chose to contest from Tharad seat in Banaskantha to ensure that he gets elected. Geniben won Vav in 2022 with more than 45 per cent vote share, even as her party managed to bag only 17 seats and many veterans could barely keep their deposits.

Rural constituency

Notably, Vav is a rural constituency dominated by Thakors and Chaudhary (OBC) caste groups with a significant number of voters from Brahmin and Dalit communities as well.

Chaudhary, a veteran leader of Banaskantha who rose to politics from dairy politics had strong influence on both Thakor and Chaudhary communities, the primary stakeholders of dairy business in the district. Geniben, on the other hand, rose from panchayat polls and gained popularity as a go-getter and a firebrand woman leader.

“Her team did not bank on typical caste arithmetic for the Lok Sabha polls. She banked on women voters and her ground work in the area. She consolidated Muslim and OBC vote of Banaskantha that ensured her triumph. We hope to repeat the same in the bypoll,” said Arvind Chanchni, a Congress leader from Banaskantha.

“Just like the last elections, people from all communities will make sure our win. We will resort to door-to-door campaign like the Lok Sabha polls. We are requesting all women to vote because every vote counts,” said Geniben.

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BJP rebel in poll fray

Meanwhile, for Chaudhary, the task at hand already got tougher with Mavji Patel, a disgruntled BJP leader, contesting as an independent candidate. A close aide of Choudhary, Patel has a strong influence on Chaudhary community.

“I jumped into the poll fray because the BJP did not grant me a ticket. This is not due to any disloyalty towards the party,” Patel told The Federal. He also held a massive rally at Akoli village in Vav where local leaders and senior members from both Thakor and Chaudhary communities came out to support him.

“It’s a battle of prestige for both the BJP and the Congress. While the BJP will be aiming to regain lost ground, the Congress will try to retain the seat of its lone MP from Gujarat,” Gautam Sah, an Ahmedabad-based sociologist, told The Federal.

Notably, in 2022 Gujarat Assembly polls, the BJP registered its biggest ever win with 156 seats in the 182-member Assembly. Though the Congress managed to win only 17 seats, it lost four MLAs, including former GPCC President Arjun Modvadiya, to the BJP whose strength rose to 160 in the Assembly. With Geniben Thakor becoming a MP, the Congress is down to mere 12 MLAs in Gujarat Assembly now.