Gujarat’s Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat is a crucial BJP stronghold.

It hasn’t just granted consecutive victories to the party since 1989 – with six terms for Lal Krishna Advani and the most recent to union home minister Amit Shah with a margin of over five lakh votes – but also stands as a showcase for PM Narendra Modi’s flagship projects such as GIFT City and the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave in Motera.

But there have been allegations of coercion this time in Gandhinagar, where the BJP hopes Shah will win with a margin of 10 lakh votes, in a state where the opposition has repeatedly failed to breach a saffron citadel. 

A total of 39 candidates had filed their nominations from the seat, but only 14 now remain as contestants after 16 withdrew their nominations while nine were cancelled. And of the 16 who had withdrawn their nomination, Newslaundry spoke to 10, of which five alleged they were under pressure from the BJP.

Notably, no complaint has been filed. And the police asserted that they were acting impartially. The election officer reiterated the same.

‘Life threat’, ‘local MLA reached out’

Among those who withdrew their nomination is Jitendra Singh Chauhan of the All India Parivar Party, who was recently seen in a viral video alleging a threat to his life from people linked to the BJP. “After the video went viral, I stopped getting work. Even those I have worked with are not receiving my calls,” said the painter from Madhya Pradesh’s Bhind, alleging that BJP workers threatened him, and that the local MLA requested him to withdraw his nomination. 

Meanwhile, Paresh Kumar Nanubhai Mulani, a resident of Bapunagar who wanted to contest the election on behalf of the Bharatiya Rashtriya Dal, claimed the local BJP MLA came to his house to convince him to withdraw his nomination. Mulani claimed local BJP leaders told him that too many nominations from Gandhinagar will trigger the need for two EVMs and that will confuse the voters. “I agreed to withdraw the nomination.”

Goswami Amit Bharti Mahendra Bharti, the third such aspirant, also said there was pressure but disconnected the call when asked whose. “You know everything.”

A fourth aspirant, who wanted to contest as an independent, also claimed he decided to leave after pressure and after a BJP MLA reached out to his relative who worked as a government official. “On April 21, I went to a wedding. When I returned, my relative came to pick me up. I was taken to the house of a BJP leader. There I was made to sign the enrollment withdrawal form and was asked to stay there for the night. The next morning I took back my nomination.”

Meanwhile, one Surendrabhai Keshavlal Shah said he withdrew from the contest as he is Amit Shah’s relative.

Another aspirant, Naresh Priyadarshi, joined the BJP after withdrawing his nomination.

It was Bapunagar MLA Dinesh Kushwaha who Jitendra Singh Chauhan and Paresh Kumar Nanubhai Mulani had accused of trying to convince them to withdraw their nomination. When Newslaundry asked for an appointment, Kushwaha refused to meet saying that he was unwell. Asked about the allegation against him, he denied all such claims, saying that “people say anything”.

The Congress as competition?

Of the 14 candidates in the fray, the top contestant is Sonal Patel of the Congress, which had recorded a 25 percent vote share in 2014 and 26 percent in 2019, and whose leaders think the BJP’s assertion about a 10-lakh margin is empty talk considering that the constituency has just around 25 lakh votes with an average voter turnout of less than 55 percent.

The BJP dominates in terms of publicity material at prominent spots in the constituency, as compared to the Congress.

Asked about the Congress’s poor show, Sonal Patel says the BJP has a “lot of resources”. “BJP people do not take permission from anyone for putting up hoardings and banners. But we have to take permission. People are hesitant and afraid of putting up our hoardings. Even though someone is a supporter of Congress, they don’t want to get into any trouble. This is a big problem.”

The Congress leader claimed several party workers have received calls from the police to hinder their efforts.

Mukesh Maru, who is linked to the Congress Seva Dal, alleged that the party was unable to hold a party meeting in a hall in Gandhinagar as the owner of the property was under “pressure”. “After that we went to two halls here…but everyone refused due to fear… We were forced to organise that program in the party office. That is a very small place.”

Police ‘working impartially’

Asked about the allegations, Gujarat DGP Vikas Sahay said, “I have nothing to say on this. The police are working impartially.”

Gandhinagar’s collector and election officer Mehul K Dave said, “People came to me and returned their nominations. No one gave me such information. If we receive such information, we will take action.”

Gandhinagar SP Ravi Teja Vasamsetty reiterated the same. “If such a thing had happened, someone would have filed a complaint. No one has complained yet.”

Delhi-based social worker Shabnam Hashmi had filed a written complaint before the Election Commission on April 19 after meeting “around 200 people” in Gandhinagar last month. She said that “apparently there was an effect” though “I haven’t received an official answer”. 

In the previous Lok Sabha elections, Shah had secured victory with a margin of 5.57 lakh votes against Congress’s C J Chavda. 

Voting for all 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat will be held in the third phase on May 7.

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