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Local body poll in Chikhlod seat postponed as all candidates withdraw nominations
The four candidates — Bhavana Parmar of BJP, Sonal Parmar of Congress, and independents Ela Sharma and Dhruma Sharma — withdrew their nominations.
Ahead of the April 26 polling, 722 seats in Gujarat’s local body elections have been declared uncontested following over 1,600 candidate withdrawals, amid allegations of political maneuvering by the opposition. (File/Representational)
In a rare development, the election to the Chikhlod seat under Fagvel Taluka Panchayat in Kheda district has been postponed after all four candidates withdrew their nomination papers voluntarily, officials said on Wednesday.
The four candidates — Bhavana Parmar of the BJP, Sonal Parmar of Congress, and independents Ela Sharma and Dhruma Sharma — withdrew their nominations.
While the candidates refused to speak, Election Officer K J Acharya said that the candidates did not “agree” to continue with their nominations despite being advised to follow the process of democracy.
Acharya said, “We tried to explain to them that election is a process of democracy but each of them were resolute about withdrawing voluntarily. We had to accept their request… The election in the seat will not proceed and so a fresh notification will eventually be issued by the competent authority.”
The development is linked to a protest against the inclusion of Chikhlod village, which was part of Kapadvanj taluka earlier, into the newly-created Fagvel taluka.
In September last year, the state government declared the creation of 17 new talukas. Fagvel was constituted as the 11th taluka of Kheda district, carving out parts of Kapadvanj and Kathlal talukas. As part of this reorganisation, Chikhlod village is added to Fagvel taluka.
Since then, residents of Chikhlod have been protesting the move, arguing that their ties remain closely linked with Kapadvanj. In January, several villagers staged a symbolic hunger strike, demanding that Chikhlod be restored to its original taluka.
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Villagers have maintained that Kapadvanj offers better access to essential services including education, healthcare, and markets.
Reacting to the development, BJP’s Fagvel taluka president Jignesh Patel said the withdrawals might be a collective action aligned with the villagers’ protest.
“It is possible that all candidates, including the BJP nominee, withdrew as part of the ongoing agitation. Even though our candidate had a good chance of getting elected, when the entire village takes a stand, it becomes difficult for any individual to go against it,” Patel added.
Elections to local self-government bodies, including 15 municipal corporations, will be held on April 26 for nearly 10,000 seats with counting of votes scheduled for April 28
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Meanwhile, the BJP candidates on two seats of Kheda district panchayat in Mehmadabad taluka – Ajitsinh Dabhi in Devki Vansol seat and Mitul Rathod in Kanij — have won uncontested as Congress candidates withdrew their forms on Wednesday.
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