I could have won Bardoli seat with brothers support

The defeated BJP candidate from Bardoli,Ritesh Vasava,has said that he could have won the seat had his cousin supported him instead of contesting against him as an Independent from the constituency.

The BJP had fielded young Vasava against strong Congress candidate Tushar Choudhary,the sitting MP from Vyara. Because of delimitation,the Vyara constituency was converted into Bardoli constituency.

Many outskirts of Surat city regarded as BJP bastion had gone to the Bardoli seat making it difficult for the Congress candidate.

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BJP candidate Vasava cousin Praveen Sinh Vasava,son of a tribal IAS officer from the state,also filed his nomination form as an Independent for the Bardoli seat.

While Vasava managed to get 3.39 lakh votes against Choudharys 3.98 lakh votes,his chances of winning were marred by his cousin Praveen who secured 26,269 votes.

Speaking about the role played by his brother,Vasava said,We underestimated him. We thought he would not get more than 1,000 votes. However,we remain friends,he said about his brother.

He said had his brother helped him,he would have definitely won as he has good network in the area.

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From my defeat,I have learnt that lack of contact with people caused damage to my performance, said Vasava.

However,Vasava is happy that he could reduce the

Congress candidates lead from 1.75 lakh in the previous election to the current lead of 58,000.

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