Amreli (Gujarat): Bharatiya Janata Party’s candidate for Amreli Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat, Bharat Sutriya, and incumbent MP Nalan Katchadia blame the party’s candidate selection for the poor voter turnout in the constituency. He claimed that it was his fault, and an argument ensued.
Sutaria hit back at Katchadia, accusing him of “insulting” the Bharatiya Janata Party top leadership and the Congress board by questioning his selection.
25 of Gujarat’s 26 assembly seats went to the third phase of voting on May 7, with an average turnout of 60.13 per cent. Amreli in Saurashtra had the lowest turnout at 50.29%. The Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Surat has already won unopposed.
In Amreli, the BJP has now sacked three-time MP Katchadia and appointed Sutaria as Amreli district panchayat chairman.
A few days after the polls, Mr. Katchadia addressed party workers in Savarkundra town in Amreli district and expressed his frustration at being defeated. The controversy erupted after a video of his speech went viral on social media.
“The opposition had no workers, no leaders, no networks, no power, nothing. Yet we came to power and fought against them, even though we had an army of workers. There must be a reason behind it. This time, due to lack of enthusiasm among party workers and voters, the vote count in Amreli was reduced by around 1.5 million votes,” Katchadia said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party MP also alleged that frontline workers were dissatisfied due to “party decisions”.
“I am grateful to the party for nominating me three times in the past…However, the selection of candidates this time has betrayed the 1.75 million voters of Amreli. There are no leaders who deserve to be given a ticket. “There were a lot of them. Instead, they chose ordinary people who couldn’t really talk or give interviews,” he said.
Sutaria on Sunday accused Katchadia of insulting the Bharatiya Janata Party’s top leadership and the Congress board by questioning his selection.
“Lok Sabha candidates are selected by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, party president JP Nadda and the BJP’s parliamentary board. Therefore, by leveling such allegations, you is an insult to the Congress Board of the Bharatiya Janata Party,” Sutaria said in a letter to Katchadia, which he shared with the media.
Mr. Katchadia had won from Mr. Amreli in 2009, 2014 and 2019, and in the last election he defeated Congress’s Paresh Dhanani by a margin of around 200,000 votes.
“Through this letter, I would like to remind you that I have always thanked you whenever the party gave me any responsibility in the past.You are well aware of why the party did not give you a ticket this time. I want people to know that’s the truth,” Sutaria added.
This time, the Congress has given the ticket to former Amreli MP Virji Tumar’s daughter Jenny Tumar.
issued May 12, 2024, 14:59 IST
