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Journalism of Courage
FIVE YEARS after they suffered abject defeat at the hands of Congress, cooperative leaders backed by the BJP regained control of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC), Botad, on Tuesday by defeating party rebels, and Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) rivals. In the counting of votes conducted on Tuesday, the BJP-backed candidates won 10 out of 14 seats, a BJP rebel group backed by Congress won four while the AAP drew a blank.
The BJP’s panel of candidates led by former Botad APMC chairman Dhirajlal Kalathiya won seven out of 10 seats in the farmers’ constituency and three out of four in the traders’ constituency. Of the 14 leaders who were directors in the outgoing board of directors of APMC, seven were in the fray. However, only two of them— Kalathiya and former chairman Jivraj Patel— could win. Joru Dhadhal, Kanu Dhadhal, Arvind Saliya, and Ganpat Vanaliya, who were directors in the outgoing board, had rebelled after the BJP denied them a mandate to seek re-election.
However, they all lost from the farmers’ constituency. Likewise, Suresh Barabhaya, a director from the trader’s constituency, too had rebelled. But he too lost. Among the rebels, Jivraj Patel was the only one to retain his seat.
With this, the BJP has managed to win a total of 12 out of 16 seats for which the election was held. Besides winning seven seats in farmers’ constituency, candidates backed by the BJP won three out of four seats in the traders’ constituency also. Vashram Taviya and Dharmendra Vadodariya, both backed by the BJP, were declared unopposed winners from sale-purchase unions’ category.
In all, rebel groups led by Jivraj Patel managed to win only four out of 16 seats. The winners include three in the farmers’ constituency—Jirvarj Patel, Chaman Khambhalia and Gopal Kanetiya—and one from traders’ constituency in Anilkumar Sheth.
The AAP, which fielded candidates for all 10 seats of the farmers’ constituency and one in the traders’ constituency, drew a blank. Ramesh Mer, the president of Congress’ Botad district unit also lost the election from the farmers’ constituency.
“The AAP may accuse the BJP and Congress of being hand in glove. But the fact remains that Ganpat Vanaliya too was a vice president in Botad district unit of Congress till recently and quit Congress to contest Botad APMC election which he lost,” Kalathiya said, adding, “If AAP indeed had popular support, their candidates should have won,” said Kalathiya.
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