For Vitthal Radadia, an influential Patel community strongman who emerged victorious today as the BJP candidate from Porbandar parliamentary constituency in the Gujarat bypolls, life has come full circle.
Radadia began his political career with BJP in 1995. However, he soon left the saffron brigade along with then party leaders Shankarsinh Vaghela and Girish Parmar to form Rashtriya Janata Party (RJP) before the latter merged with Congress. Since 2002, he had contested on Congress ticket.
Despite the Hindutva wave in the state, Radadia managed to win successive elections on Congress tickets due to his 'Robinhood-type' image.
He not only won his seats but also managed to make his supporters, including his son, win elections apart from maintaining stronghold on co-operative sector in Rajkot district in Saurashtra.
While Vaghela received plum positions in Congress, including a Cabinet berth in UPA-I, Radadia felt that he was sidelined despite being the strongest party leader in the Saurashtra region.
He was again ignored in the last Union Cabinet reshuffle in 2012.
Meanwhile, Parmar, a leader of Dalit community, rejoined BJP after Congress denied him ticket to contest the last Assembly polls from Danilimda seat in Ahmedabad city.
Radadia was not far from controversies too. On the intervening night of October 10-11, 2012, he was caught on camera brandishing a gun and threatening employees of a toll plaza who dared him to show his identity card before waiving payment.
The incident, which took place near Karjan on National Highway-8, was caught on CCTV cameras installed outside the toll plaza. The BJP, which raised a huge hue and cry over the incident, had taken potshots at Radadia.
