In This Gujarat LS Seat Once Held By Sonia Gandhi’s Confidante, AAP Has Fielded A First-Time MLA Against BJP’s Six-Time MP

While it is being anticipated that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will retain all 26 Lok Sabha Seats from Gujarat in the upcoming General Elections, the Bharuch Lok Sabha Seat has garnered significant attention as one of the most watched constituencies, not only within Gujarat but across the country. 

The constituency will see Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Chaitar Vasava, 36-year old first time Legislator from Dediapada that falls within the Bharuch Lok Sabha Constituency fight against BJP’s Mansukh Vasava, who has the track record of consistently representing this Southern Gujarat seat six-times in a row — from 1998 till 2024.

Bharuch is one of the two seats, apart from Bhavnagar, which was allotted to AAP by the Indian National Congress (INC) as a part of the pre-poll understanding in the INC-led INDI Alliance. 

Notably, the seat is in focus more so as it was represented in the past by the now deceased senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel, who apart from serving as the treasurer of the INC’s top decision making body — All India Congress Committee, was also considered as a confidante of its former president Sonia Gandhi.

Patel's political journey saw him emerge victorious from Bharuch not once, but three times consecutively, from 1977 to 1984. 

However, since 1989, the seat has remained firmly entrenched within the BJP's grasp, marking a shift in the political landscape of the region.

It is pertinent to note that of the seven state assembly seats that make up the Bharuch Lok Sabha constituency, only two seats — Jhagadia and Dediapada, are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes (ST). Despite this and the Lok Sabha seat itself historically having been an unreserved one, both contenders, Chaitar Vasava of AAP and Mansukh Vasava of BJP, hail from the Vasava clan of the Bhil tribe.

According to the experts, the decision to consistently field an ST candidate by BJP and now that of AAP, has been a conscious one considering the fact that the STs constitute 31 per cent of the constituency’s overall population.

The eastern part of the constituency comprising Talukas like Jhagadia in Bharuch and Dediapada in Narmada district are part of the ST-dominated belt, that runs from Chota Udepur in northern Gujarat to Valsad in the south. 

Considering the numerical dominance of the STs in this North-South belt along the Gujarat’s border with Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, AAP’s Bharuch candidate Vasava, is said to have mustered courage to demand a separate state for Adivasis named ‘Bhil Pradesh’ in April last year.

BJP leader and Bharuch’s sitting MP Mansukh Vasava had contested the AAP leader’s claim by saying that such a demand could create anarchy in different parts of the state. 

“It will create friction between tribals and non-tribals, which will eventually affect the implementation of developmental projects in tribal areas," BJP leader Vasava said then.

Furthermore, as per the 2011 census, Bharuch also has the highest Muslim population at 22 per cent among the constituencies that make up South Gujarat.

Considering that the minority population has historically voted in favour of INC, AAP candidate Vasava who initially wanted to join Congress, is reportedly said to have softened his stance against the latter. 

The Lok Sabha Bharuch seat is also important in terms of the political economy of Gujarat. It comprises some of the state's largest industrial townships such as that of Ankleshwar, Jhagadia and Dahej. These are home to multinational corporations such as PepsiCo, Saint-Gobain, BASF, Bayer along with Indian undertakings such as ONGC, Larsen and Toubro, Glenmark, Zydus-Cadila among others.

The Sardar Sarovar Project on the Narmada River, which is considered vital for water supply across the state, is also located in the constituency.

Some of the senior management level employees working in the manufacturing facilities located here, have complained of severe political interference by dominant leaders from the constituency.

A senior employee of a French conglomerate with facilities at Jhagadia said, “It is an unwritten rule here that if we want to buy lignite fuel or any other raw material from mines nearby or hire any transport services for logistics, either of them necessarily has to be related to one of the dominant leader here.”

AAP candidate Vasava is said to be the former protege of Bharat Tribal Party founder and Jhagadia’s seven-time MLA Chottubhai Vasava. The latter, who is considered as the region’s most dominant leader, has several criminal cases registered against him at local police stations.

Chaitar Vasava too faces several allegations of high-handedness.

The AAP candidate who is now out on bail, served jail-time for 48 days on the charges of allegedly having assaulted a forest officer and firing gun shots in the air.

Vasava is reportedly said to have assaulted the officer when the latter on the former’s invitation had come to meet him over issues pertaining to usage of forest lands for agricultural and other private purposes.

Considering that the Bharuch constituency sees large amounts of money change hands and its historical connection with Congress, the decision to hand-over the seat to AAP hasn’t gone down well with the former’s cadre.

In fact, Ahmed Patel’s daughter Mumtaz Patel has reportedly expressed her disappointment with the party’s decision.

Patel is yet to declare her support publicly for AAP contestant Vasava’s candidature.