HC order flips panchayat equation, BJP holds Anand

Vadodara: In a legal and political turnaround, the BJP on Monday retained control of the Anand district panchayat after the Gujarat high court restored the nomination of its candidate for the president’s post, overturning a rejection by election authorities and dashing Congress hopes of an unopposed win.

The controversy centred on BJP candidate Mayuri Patel, whose nomination for the ST woman-reserved president’s post was rejected during scrutiny over her caste certificate. Patel, elected from the general Sarsa seat, had submitted a Scheduled Tribe certificate issued in Maharashtra, her native state.

The Anand district development officer (DDO), who also functioned as the election officer, ruled that caste certificates issued outside Gujarat were not valid for reserved-category posts in local self-govt elections, leading to the rejection of Patel’s nomination.

The decision briefly tilted the balance in favour of Congress candidate Gauri Shambhu Tadvi, elected from the ST-reserved Hadgud seat. With Tadvi’s nomination remaining valid and no other candidate in the fray, Congress leaders expected her to be elected unopposed despite the BJP’s dominance in the 40-member district panchayat, where it holds 33 seats against Congress’s seven.

The issue triggered a political slugfest. Gujarat Congress president Amit Chavda alleged that the BJP candidate was ineligible under Gujarat’s ST reservation norms and said objections had been raised before the election commission, the collector and the tribal commissioner.

The BJP challenged the DDO’s decision in the Gujarat high court. After the court’s intervention, Mayuri Patel’s nomination was upheld, paving the way for her election as district panchayat president.

The legal battle also led to heated exchanges between BJP and Congress members inside the district panchayat board room before the outcome was declared. BJP workers later celebrated by garlanding the newly elected office-bearers.