Rupani hits the campaign trail from Khadia-Jamalpur

AHMEDABAD: Muslim community members turned out in large numbers in chief minister Vijay Rupani’s maiden Gujarat Gaurav Maha-Sampark Abhiyan roadshow which took off from Khadia-Jamalpur. This Wednesday, Rupani began his first direct voter contact on the campaign trail for 2017 assembly elections.
Twin slogans of ‘Allah-hu-Akbar’ and ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ rent the air as a large number of Muslims joined Rupani’s campaign in the constituency which has 62% Muslim voters.The CM walked the meandering bylanes snaking across every nook of the more than 600-year-old Walled City accepting greetings on the way from men and women, while occasionally waving at children.
Interestingly, the CM’s campaign trail received a response that was more overwhelming in Muslim dominated Jamalpur than even in Hindu-dominated Khadia area.
It was in 2009 that Jamalpur and Khadia were merged into one constituency after delimitation. “The warm response from the Muslim community in Jamalpur is proof that they have accepted PM Modi and BJP’s ‘Sauno Saath, Sauno Vikas’ mantra,” Rupani said.
He added, “Muslims have understood that they have been used by Congress as vote bank.’’
Most of those present in Rupani’s rally belonged to the Chippas, Bohras, Sargara and other Muslim groups. Samina Chippa, a home maker who came to greet Rupani said, “We are happy that for the first time a CM has visited our area. We hope that our area will get development.”
There are 1.97 lakh voters in the constituency of which 98,000 are Hindus, mainly concentrated in Raikhad and Khadia municipal wards, which are BJP’s traditional vote bank.
Back in 2012, BJP’s Bhushan Bhatt won from this seat by a margin of 6,331 votes. The Congress candidate, Samir Sipai, had polled 41,727 votes, but BJP took the lead after a former Congressman and independent candidate, Sabir Kabliwala, polled 30,513 votes and cut into Congress’s expected vote share.
A senior BJP official claimed that a 12% swing in Jamalpur votes can help the BJP win the seat with a large margin. “Our MLA Bhushan Bhatt was also a municipal councillor till 2015, which had its own advantages as our day-to-day problems pertaining to roads, drainage and water supply were addressed,” said a plastic dealer Kirti Thakkar from Raikhad the Chakla.
Rupani declines Muslim skullcap, accepts scarf
On Wednesday, CM Vijay Rupani politely declined a local who offered a skullcap to the CM during the campaign trail, but he accepted a Muslim scarf.