Jasdan Assembly bypoll: Chela will prove better than guru, says Avsar Nakia

“Kunvarjibhai used to win because he used to go among voters with the symbol of the Congress party. But he has cheated the voters of Jasdan. People are talking about this being a fight between guru and chela (master and his disciple). If this indeed is so, people would come to know on 20th (of December, the day of voting). Voters of Jasdan and Vinchhiya have always been with the Congress, and will continue to be so. And they have decided to help the Congress with a huge margin… The Congress will continue to retain its stronghold in the constituency,” Nakia, a former close aide of Bavaliya, said after filing his nomination papers.

Since the bypoll was announced last month, Bavaliya, a Koli leader and a five-time MLA from Jasdan, has been claiming that all those who were vying for Congress tickets to contest against him were his chelas (disciples).

Earlier in the day, state Congress president Amit Chavda, Congress legislature party leader Paresh Dhanani, Limdi MLA Sombhai Patel, Una MLA Punjabhai Vansh and a host of other Congress MLAs gathered at the party office in Jasdan along with hundreds of party supporters to accompany Nakia to the office of Returning Office to file nomination.

Addressing the gathering, Chavda said that by defecting to the BJP, Bavaliya had cheated voters of Jasdan within months of his election as an MLA on a Congress ticket. Dhanani exhorted Nakia to prove better than his political guru. “In Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna exhorts Arjun to fight even if his guru might be there in the opposition rank. If this bypoll is like Mahabharata, then Nakia will not only fight his guru but will also prevail on him,” said Dhanani.
Jasdan Assembly seat covers Jasdan and Vinchhiya talukas and is overwhelmingly dominated by Koli community.

Like Bavaliya, Nakia is also a Koli leader. An agricultural labourer by occupation, Nakia was vice-president of Rajkot district panchayat till June this year. At present, he is the sitting Congress member of the district panchayat. A native of Asalpur village in Vinchhiya taluka of Rajkot district, Nakia will be contesting his first Assembly election. A number of leading Congress workers and local leaders had followed Bavaliya into the BJP. But Nakia and a few others stuck with the Congress, and eventually he was awarded with the party ticket to challenge Bavaliya.

After the public meeting, Nakia, flanked by Chavda, Dhanani and a host of party MLAs, took out a huge roadshow from the party office on Atkot Road to the office of the returning officer on Kamlapur Road, effectively putting on a show of strength.

Monday was the last day of filing nomination papers for the bypoll. Returning Officer Amit Chaudhary said that a total of 19 persons have filed their nomination papers, including 16 Independents. Among those who have filed the nomination are Bavaliya’s wife Parul, acting as a dummy candidate of the BJP. Polling of the by-election is scheduled for December 20, while the counting of votes will take place on December 23.