Gujarat Assembly Polls: 'Prestige' seats of Surat, Morbi to vote in phase 1

In the 89 seats spread across Saurashtra and South Gujarat that will vote on Thursday, the outcomes of polling in the seats of Surat that have made the city a prestige battle for the BJP again are set to be watched keenly.

Also interesting will be the outcomes in thirty of the 54 seats of Saurashtra that voted for the Congress last time pushing the party's tally to a historic 77. Morbi where the terrible tragedy of the collapse of the bridge occurred recently will also vote on Thursday.

Nearly 27 seats of these seats had winning margins of less than 11,000 in 2017, and 17 of these were won by the congress.


In Surat, Arvind Kejriwal AAP has placed its best bets. Enthused by its historical performance in Surat civic polls last year when it won 27 of the 120 seats, the party is relying on the presence of strong Patidar leaders in its fold, and the textile industry’s vexation over GST.

Surat is important for the BJP for its political, social and economic value as major traders' hub for diamond and textiles. Known to be inhabited by many with their roots in Saurashtra, Surat is also where the BJP's powerful State president CR Paatil hails from.

PM Narendra Modi led a grand show in Surat recently urging people to break all records in voting for the BJP. Despite being a strong centre for Patidar agitation last time, BJP had swept all the seats of Surat.

Contests in seats of Amreli and Gir Somnath that the Congress swept in 2017 will also be keenly watched.

In Morbi, the BJP has dropped former minister Brijesh Merja from the seat, and nominated Kanti Amrutiya, former legislator instead from the seat. Amrutiya had played an active role in the rescue of people after the collapse of the bridge.

Merja had won the seat in 2017 from the Congress, defeating Amrutiya by less than 3,000 votes, before jumping to the BJP. From Jamnagar north, cricketer Ravindra Jadeja's wife Rivaba is contesting. Party had dropped local strongman Hakuba to give Rivaba the ticket.

Congress had a remarkable performance in Saurashtra last time, when the party won 30 out of 54 seats, however the party just won eight of the 35 seats in South Gujarat last time. The Bharatiya Tribal Party had also managed two seats then. Election in Jhagadiya is also critical for the future of BTP veteran Chotu Vasava.

In another high-profile seat, Khambalia, AAP's CM candidate Isudhan Gadhvi is in a fight with veteran politicians Mulubhai Bera and Vikram Madam. khambalia since the last three decades has always chosen an Ahir candidate. Gandhvi however is from the OBC community.

Long time legislators such as Pabubha Manek, Bhabubhai Bokhiria, Arjun Modhwadia are also in fray from Dwarka and Porbandar. Solanki brothers, former fisheries Purushattam Solanki from Bhavnagar rural is contesting despite ill health while brother Hira Solanki is in a spirited fight with Congress MLA Ambarish Der.

The contest in the sensitive seat of Gondal that is a fight between two "bahubalis" and in Kutiyana where Kandhal Jadeja, son of late mafia don Santokben Sarmanbhai Jadeja is contesting from Samajwadi Party after NCP denied him a ticket are also interesting.

The campaigning of the election was marked by PM Modi holding massive rallies in different parts of Saurashtra. He blamed the Congress for being easy on terrorists and not taking the security of the country seriously. While the BJP is aiming at a historic win, particularly in Saurashtra due to the lack of serious agrarian concerns or caste agitations, this is the phase where the AAP hopes to make a mark, at least in Surat.

Over 2.39 crore voters will decide the fate of 788 candidates in the fray for 89 seats in 19 districts.