Gujarat: 'Poll equations may change in BJP stronghold of Morbi Assembly seat'

morbi: Though the Patidar-dominated Morbi Assembly seat in Gujarat is considered a stronghold of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the poll equations this time may change due to many factors, including the recent bridge tragedy which claimed 135 lives, political observers say.

The entry of the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) into the poll fray and the long-pending urban infrastructure issues could also be among the decisive factors in Morbi where the winning margins have been thin in the last three elections, the political experts said.

The erstwhile Morbi princely state was called as the 'Paris of Saurashtra region' before Independence, thanks to its visionary Jadeja rulers. Today, it is famous for the ceramic and clock industries, providing employment to more than five lakh people who come here from across the country for jobs.

However, the economic development in Morbi has been marred by bad roads and traffic jams, locals claim. Currently, the BJP is ruling the Morbi Municipality, District Panchayat and Taluka Panchayat.

The Morbi Assembly seat falls under the Kutch Lok Sabha constituency, represented by Dalit BJP MP Vinod Chavda.

Bad roads and traffic problems have been some of the main issues here for many years, according to Morbi Ceramic Manufacturers Association's floor tiles division president Vinod Bhadja.

"Morbi is a ceramic hub with a combined annual turnover of Rs 65,000 crore. Though the BJP has done a lot of work, we are still facing issues of traffic jams, water-logging and bad roads in and around the city," the industrialist said.

"The people of Morbi are somewhat unhappy because our main issues have remained unresolved for more than two decades now," he claimed.

Morbi witnessed some interesting political developments in the last decade, including the Patidar quota agitation spearheaded by Hardik Patel and the defeat of BJP's five-term MLA Kantilal Amrutiya.

Amrutiya, better known as Kanabhai, had won

from the Morbi Assembly seat in 1995, 1998, 2002, 2007

and 2012.

In 2017, Congress candidate Brijesh Merja defeated Amrutiya by a thin margin of 3,419 votes, riding on the anti-BJP wave in Morbi, one of the key centres of the Patidar quota agitation.

In 2012, Amrutiya defeated Merja by 2,760 votes. Both of them are Patidars. Merja, considered as a suave and learned leader, left the Congress in 2020 and joined the ruling BJP. In the subsequent byelection, he managed to defeat Congress's old-timer Jayantilal Patel by 4,649 votes.

In the new cabinet constituted last year under the chief ministership of Bhupendra Patel, Merja was appointed Minister of State with independent charge of panchayat as well as skill, labour and employment departments.

When a suspension bridge on the Machchhu river in Morbi collapsed on October 30 evening claiming 135 lives, Amrutiya hogged limelight as videos showing him jumping into the water to rescue the victims went viral on social media platforms.