'Godmother' seeks that magic touch

KUTIYANA, Porbander: ‘Godmother’ Santokben Jadeja is looking to regain her lost touch on home ground, where her word was all that counted till some years ago. But Kutiyana, a hot-bed of criminal activities, seems to have given up its violent past when gangs, including hers, used to roam the coastal countryside.
Gangs belonging to both Santokben, an Independent candidate, and her brother-in-law Bhura Munja, a Samajwadi Party candidate, have been liquidated.Their names, however, still evoke fear and awe in the region, though now officials describe them as “paper tigers�.
Santokben and Bhurabhai have returned to Kutiyana after a gap of over five years to test the political waters again. While Santokben lives in Rajkot, Bhura has made Gandhinagar his home.
Kutiyana is no more the gangland it used to be in the early ‘80s when guns used to be smuggled in fishing trawlers along with other contraband.
Normally, with this duo in the fray, the BJP and the Congress would have been running scared. A decade ago when Santokben contested as a Janata Dal candidate, the Congress could not get anybody to even open an election office. Later, when Bhura jumped into the electoral arena as an Independent, the story was the same.
It was only in 1998, when the two fled Kutiyana, did BJP’s Karsan Dula win the election after defeating Bhura’s wife, Hiralba Jadeja, by over 6,000 votes. The Congress has fielded Bharat, son of late Mahant Vijaydasji. Dula is also accused of having the backing of a bunch of criminals operating near Aditiyana and Ranavav.
There have been allegations that Santokben was asked by the BJP leadership to contest so as to create roadblocks for the Congress. Santokben is, however, dismissive. “I’m here because the people want me here.�
As many as 27 candidates are in the fray for the prestigious seat, though it is feared many will be muscled out of the contest.
Meanwhile, the voters are battling odds like the twice-a-week water supply and the loss of cotton crop. There is no power for almost 12 hours a day in the town. But these issues won’t matter if the notorious duo starts flexing its muscle. Even today Santokben has a case of murder pending against her, while Bhura is named in four such cases.
“I won’t hesitate to take up arms if injustice is done,� he said at his residence at Memonwad in Porbander. “I’m contesting to stop the ‘gundagiri’ unleashed by the BJP. I had returned from London to avenge the killing of my brother (Sarman) and neutralise Santok and I’ve been successful,� he claimed. “The days of gang rivalry have gone. The peak was from 1975-82 and again from 1987-88, when 21 people were killed,� he admitted. “But after that there’s been peace.�
Bhura Munja has been hobnobbing with the Congress, the BJP and the erstwhile RJP of Shankersinh Vaghela. Even this time he was sure of getting a Congress ticket, but was dumped at the eleventh hour.
Santokben appears more cool-headed. “Wait till the 28th after which I’ll speak out on why I decided to contest. I don’t have anything to say about my past. I’ve put all that behind me,� she says.
When persisted with questions, she waves her hand and says, “Don’t provoke me.� Refusing to be photographed, she says: “The voters know me and I don’t look good in photographs.�