Buddies set to battle it out on ballots

Vadodara: It is often said that politics makes strange bedfellows. In Vadodara's civic election battlefield, friendships have turned into rivalries — at least during the campaign.In several wards of Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC), friends, classmates and schoolmates are contesting against each other from different political parties.In Ward 5, Kiran Kapadiya of the Congress is locked in a contest with BJP candidate Manoj Shah. Adding an interesting twist, Kapadiya's former schoolmate Bhavesh Arya is also in the fray from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The ward covers parts of Ajwa Road and Waghodiya Road in the eastern part of the city.Kapadiya said he and Shah have known each other for over two decades. "We are good friends. I have been active in the Congress for years, while Manoj joined the BJP about a decade ago. Our friendship has remained intact," he said, adding that their political affiliations have not come in the way of their personal bond.According to Kapadiya, the two became friends after being introduced by a common acquaintance as they lived in the same locality. "We have remained friends like anyone else would," he said. Shah earlier held several positions in the BJP at the ward level, including serving as the party's ward president before being fielded as a candidate. Their friendship is well known among members of both parties.Interestingly, Kapadiya and Arya were classmates at Motnath Vidyalaya. They lost touch after school and reconnected only during the 2021 VMC elections when both contested from the same ward."We met again only during the 2021 elections. While we are not close friends, we do interact whenever we meet now," said Arya, who is contesting against Kapadiya for the second time on an AAP ticket.A similar contest between schoolmates is unfolding in Ward 10 in the western part of the city, which includes Gotri, Vasna and Bhayli.Congress candidate Hardik Amodiya is facing BJP's Brijesh Kapadiya. Both studied at Rameshwar Vidyalaya."Brijesh was my junior in school. We live nearby and used to meet occasionally. I was given the ticket much earlier, and when the BJP announced its candidate, it turned out to be someone from my school," said Amodiya.