Gujarat polls: Amit Shah bats for re-election of Sanand BJP MLA, will people abide?

Union Home Minister Amit Shah's fervent appeal to the people of Sanand to re-elect BJP's Kanubhai Patel as their MLA, has met with a mild resistance from the locals, who are disappointed with his performance, and are mulling whether to give in to the Minister's request or use their discretion.

Home Minister Shah made the appeal while inaugurating a flyover in Sanand constituency on Friday.

While the BJP local leaders are confident of the party candidate getting re-elected, the locals are doubtful as they are unhappy with his performance.

According to them, Kanubhai has neither worked for the uplift of koli community nor for unemployed youths in his constituency.

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Sanand Assembly constituency is dominated by the Koli community. Till 2017, no BJP candidate had ever won this seat. It was only after Congress MLA late Karamsibhai Patel's son Kanubhai switched loyalty and contested election in 2017 on BJP ticket, that the BJP won the seat with 7,721 votes. This seat also falls under Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency, represented by Shah.

"In last five years, Kanubhai has not worked for the people of his constituency. Though two big industrial areas -- Changodar and Moraiya -- fall in his constituency, where locals are not getting jobs, he never bothered to raise the issue. Also, he did not pressure the state government to release water from Fatehwadi irrigation scheme which resulted in the crops drying out without water. People are unhappy and will vote against him," said Mahadev Patel, from Bol village of the Sanand Taluka.

He even failed to get 33 villages of Sanand and Bavla under the Narmada command area. The Koli community was expecting that Kanubhai will develop at least one school or hostel for the students in the taluka, but that too has not happened, said Ranjitbhai Koli from Bavla.

Dismissing the allegations, Harsadgiri Gosai, BJP President of Ahmedabad District Committee called it a "false propaganda" run against sitting MLA. Not only he but Sanand nagarpalika, Sanand Taluka panchayat, Ahmedabad district panchayat, even Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA) have taken up a lot of development works in the constituency, he added. Moreover, Amit Shah is using MP development fund in the region, so question of him being defeated in the Assembly does not arise.

As far as 33 villages' water issue is concerned, to include in Narmada command area is a very long process and so the Water Resources Department is working on a Rs 6 crore project, under which water will be drawn from Fatehwadi scheme and supplied to these villages, and issue will be resolved, assured Gosai.