Few complain in Mandvi

Neither quake nor hate could rock him. If there is one constituency in Kutch where earthquake rehabilitation is not an election issue, it is...

Neither quake nor hate could rock him. If there is one constituency in Kutch where earthquake rehabilitation is not an election issue, it is Mandvi. Also, Muslims may be unhappy with the BJP elsewhere, but they would not mind voting for Industry Minister Suresh Mehta, the BJP candidate here.

Known as a moderate, Mehta has won from Mandvi thrice. Not surprising that old rival Jaikumar Sanghvi, who is contesting once again as an Independent, and Chhabildas Patel of the Congress don’t stand much of a chance against him.

‘‘There was plenty of relief material gere after the 2001 earthquake, thanks to Mehta who happened to be minister in charge of relief operations,’’ said Dhirubhai Shah, a printing press owner.

The constituency has 30,000 Patel voters and 28,000 Muslims. Both Congress candidate and Sanghvi believe that Patels and Muslims are alienated from the BJP, the former because of the government’s failure to bring the Narmada water to Kutch and the latter because of the recent riots.

Sanghvi claims he stands a better chance because the Congress does not exist here, and the Congress candidate is unknown. A former district Congress president, Sanghvi had won in 1980 against the BJP’s Anant Dave. In 1990, 1995 and 1998, he lost to Mehta.

Chhabildas Patel’s brother Ravindra denies that the Congress candidate is an outsider. ‘‘My brother has now settled here,’’ he claims, adding that all important Patels have pledged support to Chhabildas.

Former chief minister Keshubhai Patel, who is regarded as the tallest Patel leader, has campaigned for Mehta, while Chief Minister Narendra Modi addressed an impressive public meeting in Patel-dominated Nakhtrana last week. Neither Sanghvi, nor the Congress could organise a similar show of strength.

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As for Muslims, they may be annoyed with the BJP, but many of them admit that they would make an exception for Mehta who has never shown any prejudice in public dealings.

Mehta’s rivals accuse him of neglecting the constituency. ‘‘The much- hyped shipbuilding yard was constructed at a wrong site. The traffic of Mandvi port had dwindled to 500 tonnes from 5 lakh tonnes in one decade. Underground water is turning saline, and no alternative sources have been developed. The industrial estate sanctioned a decade ago exist only in name,’’ says Sanghvi.

But Mehta claims that, in the last five years, more than 1,300 development works, worth Rs 151 crores, have been implemented in Mandvi.

One issue where Mehta’s rivals are making some headway is the government’s failure to alleviate the hardship caused by scarce rainfall in rural areas. Crops have failed, there is a shortage of fodder and water, and no relief work has been started.