‘You truly deserve it’: Ravindra Jadeja's special tweet for MLA wife Rivaba

Indian cricketer Ravindra Jadeja has posted a special message for his wife Rivaba Jadeja who made a victorious debut into electoral politics in the Gujarat Assembly polls on Thursday (December 8).

Rivaba, who contested the Jamnagar North Assembly seat on a BJP ticket, won by 53,570 votes, defeating her nearest rival Karshan Karmur of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

She had won 88,110 votes while Karshan had polled 34,818 votes. The Congress party’s Bipendrasinh Jadeja finished third with 23,088 votes.

Also read: Ravindra Jadeja thanks PM Modi

Ravindra Jadeja who is not part of the Indian team for the ongoing ODI series in Bangladesh due to an injury, campaigned extensively for his wife.

A day after she won, Ravindra Jadeja took to this Twitter page to post a picture with her and wrote in Gujarati, “Hello MLA you truly deserve it. The people of Jamnagar have won. I thank all the people from the bottom of my heart… the works of Jamnagar will be very good.”

Sibling rivalry was at play in Jamnagar North as Ravindra Jadeja batted for his wife Rivaba, while his sister Naynaba Jadeja campaign for the Congress, bringing into limelight this urban constituency where voters, like much of Gujarat, have again backed the ruling party.

The constituency had voted for the first time in 2012 after being carved out following delimitation.

The Congress won it while the BJP grabbed it in 2017 after then-incumbent MLA Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, locally better known as Hakubha, crossed over to the BJP.

He was dropped this time in favour of Rivaba.

The BJP though managed to placate Hakubha by making him the party’s in-charge for polling in three assembly seats in Jamnagar, including Jamnagar North.

An overwhelmingly urban constituency, Jamnagar North was always seen as more favourable to the BJP than the Congress. The performance of AAP, which fielded a not-so-known face, has come as a surprise.

The Jadejas are Rajputs, the community that dominates this constituency. Muslims make up the other decisive group of voters.