Tough contest on the cards in Vadodara

MANDATE 2004

With less than a fortnight remaining before polling for the general elections begins, the fight for the Vadodara parliamentary constituency between sitting MP Jayaben Thakkar of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Satyajit Gaekwad of the Congress appears to be closer than predictions made a fortnight ago.

The common refrain among voters is that Thakkar has done little for the development of the area and even if they vote for her, it will be a vote for the BJP and for Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

This may lead to a lower voter turnout, at least in Vadodara city. "I feel the voter turnout will be much lower compared to the previous elections, because voters are unhappy with the sitting MP," said a political observer.

Voters recollect an incident a couple of years ago, when a delegation of political leaders from Vadodara had gone to meet Railway Minister Nitish Kumar with a plea against extending the Sayajinagari Express from Mumbai to Gandhidham instead of Vadodara. "When the delegation met the minister, Thakkar began discussing a totally different issue," said the analyst.

But Gaekwad feels the turnout will be high. "There is going to be a huge turnout this time. I am confident of winning this seat with a margin of over 100,000," he told Business Standard. "The people of Vadodara are unhappy with Thakkar," he added.

Although Thakkar could not be contacted, BJP workers said they were confident of a victory for Thakkar. "The BJP has retained this seat with a comfortable majority in the last two elections. From the kind of response that we have been getting at public meetings, we feel people will vote back Thakkar," said a party worker.

However, during the candidate selection process, a delegation of BJP leaders had opposed renomination of Thakkar. If the BJP sympathisers decide to stay away from voting, the outcome will depend on the Muslim factor. There are over 150,000 Muslim voters, who could turn the tables on the BJP by allowing the Congress to regain the seat.