The community had indicated that the Congress could win many seats in north Gujarat, but the choice of candidates hints that the party could be at a loss
What seemed like a master stroke for the Congress, may cost it seats in north Gujarat, say sources. Thakor Sena leader Alpesh Thakor joined the party in the presence of Rahul Gandhi at Gandhinagar in a huge rally. The community had indicated that the Congress could win many seats in north Gujarat, but the choice of candidates hints that the party could be at a loss.
Congress could lose six seats in the area as it has given tickets to candidates that are weak and inexperienced against the BJP candidates. Besides that, the candidates have no connect with the voters and the only qualification for getting the ticket was their connection to Thakor.
The six seats are for Bechraji (Bharat Thakor), Kheralu (Ramji Thakor), Vaav (Genibent Thakor), Chanasma (Chandan Thakor), Kankrej (Dinesh Jhalera) and Gandhinagar South (Govindji Thakor). Barring one Kankrej seat, all the rest were won by the BJP in the 2012 Assembly polls.
Anti-incumbency and Patel quota agitation was at its peak in these regions, and if Congress had selected the right candidates, they would have won all these seats.
"The party meticulously selected candidates in the initial two lists for south Gujarat and Saurashtra region, but made a huge mistake in north Gujarat," a senior Congress leader said on the condition of anonymity. "We were considering all these seats but now the BJP could win them easily as the Congress candidates do not have their identity or recognition among voters. BJP has repeated all the sitting MLAs on these seats. The voters have known them well for years and could vote in their favour."
Party sources say the leadership should have given these seats to candidates who have been preparing for the polls for two years.
"The party has disappointed leaders who played a good role and now they could act against it," said the Congress leader.
Deputy chief minister and BJP leader in charge of North Gujarat, Nitin Patel, said, "Congress has made many mistakes in this region. They succumbed to Alpesh Thakor's demands for tickets and that was a financial deal. It would lose badly in North Gujarat." Thakor could not be reached for comments
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