Gujarat: 'Family Feud' Resolved As Mahesh Vasava Of BTP Withdraws Nomination Against His Father From Jhagadia

The tribal-dominated Jhagadia Assembly seat in Bharuch district of Gujarat was set for an interesting contest between a father-son duo, but eventually it was not to be.

Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) founder Chhotubhai Vasava had decided to fight as an independent candidate from the seat against his son Mahesh Vasava.

However, earlier today, Mahesh withdrew his candidature and now Chhotu Vasava is the only candidate from the Vasava family contesting for the Jhagadia constituency.

Although even when Chhotu Vasava, a seven-time MLA, had filed his nomination as an independent, he had sounded confident of his victory.

Before withdrawing his nomination, BTP national president Mahesh Vasava was the party's official candidate in Jhagadia.

In the previous election, he had won from the Dediapada constituency in Narmada district.

Bahadursinh Vasava is the BTP candidate from the Dediapada seat this time.

In the 2017 elections, the BTP, which has pockets of influence in tribal-dominated areas of the state, won two out of three seats it had contested in an alliance with the Congress.

The father-son duo was the only two winners from the party in 2017.

This time, the party is going to contest all 27 seats reserved for scheduled tribes in the state.

Speaking about his move, the senior Vasava had said he has to fight the polls as there is nobody else to take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Supporters on both sides had said that while a contest between father and son was not unusual in politics, they hoped that the tussle between the two is short-lived and a solution is arrived at soon. That is exactly what happened.

In May this year, Chhotu Vasava had entered into an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party and held a joint rally in Bharuch with AAP convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

However, the BTP later pulled out of it alliance with the AAP, citing neglect and one-upmanship by latter. It feared that the AAP was using BTP's base to establish itself in the tribal zones, at the cost of the tribal party.

Gujarat’s significant tribal population, approximately 15 per cent of the state’s total population, holds a crucial place in the state’s polity. 27 seats in the State assembly are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes communities.

While the BJP has been able to win six consecutive elections in the State, its performance in the seats reserved for STs has never been strong.

In 2012, out of 27 seats reserved for the Scheduled Tribes, the Congress won 16, the BJP won 10, and one seat was picked up by the JD(U).

In 2017, the Congress won 16 of the 27; the BJP won nine, two seats were picked up the then Congress ally BTP (Chhotubhai and Mahesh Vasava) and one seat returned an Independent candidate.

This time, with the AAP in fray, and with the BTP and Congress contesting separately, it would be worth watching out for how each party performs in the reserved seats.

(with inputs from PTI)