Rajkot with a voter base of close to 22 lakh voters has emerged as a key constituency to watch out for. The BJP has fielded Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Parshottam Rupala as their key candidate. Meanwhile, the Congress has fielded Paresh Dhanani, an old-time Congress leader and MLA.
Both candidates are native to Amreli district but are new faces in Rajkot. Interestingly, Paresh Dhanani had defeated Purushottam Rupala with a margin of over two lakh votes in Gujarat State Assembly Elections of 2002.
After 21 years, they are readying for face off again. During peak campaign season, Rupala has irked the Kshatriya community in Gujarat by making remarks such as - “... Even kings and royals bowed down to the British, started family bonds with them, broke bread with them, and even married their daughters to them.”
His eventual apology has done little to change situation on the ground. Also, in a community event at Rajkot, Rupala made references to BJP’s pet project - The Ram Temple, and expressed disdain at opposition parties which had boycotted its inauguration. Hoardings smattered all over Rajkot boast of rapid development like a swanky new international airport, a six-lane highway connecting Rajkot to Ahmedabad and beyond as well as a new All India Institute of Medical Sciences. But Congress Candidate Paresh Dhanani says that the BJP has narrowed down the definition of development, and has polarised communities on religious and caste lines.
