In Gujarat’s Panchmahal, Congress battles BJP candidate, infighting

Panchmahal: In the political landscape of Panchmahal, a district in eastern Gujarat, the competition between the BJP and the Congress has always been intense.

Panchmahal, with its five subdivisions of Godhra, Dahod, Halol, Kalol, and Jhalod, plays a crucial role in Gujarat's politics.

In the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, the BJP has introduced a new candidate, Rajpalsinh Mahendrasinh Jadav from Kalol in Panchmahal District.

The 42-year-old belongs to the Baraiya Kshatriya community, categorised under the Other Backward Class (OBC) and works as a farmer after studying up to BA third year.

With a political career spanning 24 years, he has served two terms as a member of the District Panchayat and is a part of the State Executive of Gujarat BJP.

Previously, he was the President of the Panchmahal District Panchayat.

Recently, the BJP declared him as one of the new candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, with 15 of the 195 candidates nationwide hailing from Gujarat.

The district, with its diverse demographics and a population of 2,390,776 as of 2001, sees a majority of Gujarati speakers, followed by Urdu and Hindi speakers.

The BJP’s dominance in the region was evident when Chauhan Prabhatsinh Pratapsinh won the 2014 Lok Sabha election with 508,274 votes, defeating the Congress’ Ramsinh Parmar.

On the other side, the Congress has nominated Gulabsinh Chauhan, the Lunawada MLA, for the Panchmahal seat.

Chauhan, at 63, has previously served as the Chairman of the Mahisagar District panchayat and won against the BJP’s Jignesh Sevak by over 25,000 votes in the 2022 state polls.

On March 30, senior Congress leaders promptly addressed internal unrest regarding the Panchmahal Lok Sabha seat ticket distribution. They facilitated a meeting between Gulabsinh Chauhan and opposing party members to resolve conflicts.

In a meeting held in Shehra Assembly constituency, Gulabsinh and the influential Panchmahal leader, Dushyantsinh Chauhan, discussed their differences.

Dushyantsinh had been leading the dissenters, upset over the nomination of Gulabsinh, who had recently joined the party. The matter is still on.

The political battle in Panchmahal is not just a contest of candidates but a reflection of the larger ideological and strategic tussles between the BJP and Congress, each aiming to consolidate its influence in this pivotal district of Gujarat.