Gujarat Elections 2012: Rich candidates emerge winners

Gujarat voters gave a thumbs up to the prominent industrialists, and co-operative dairy sector leaders by BJP and Congress. All the top 20 richest candidates in Gujarat assembly election registered a victory.

Congress candidate Balvantshin Rajput, promoter of the Rs 6,000-crore edible oils company Gokul Refoils, beat BJP heavy weight and health minister Jaynarayan Vyas. Rajput, with declared assets worth Rs 268 crore, was the richest candidate. BJP’s Indranil Rajguru, a real estate developer with assets of over 160 crore, has been declared victorious. Congress leader Javahar Chavda, who has interests in cotton processing and assets worth over Rs 80 crore, won from Manavadar in Saurashtra, the state’s cotton belt. Most of the industrialists in the fray are under-graduates. However, their business acumen and networking skills have givewwwn them an edge, especially among farmers and rural voters.

At Majura, in Surat, 27-year-old diamond jewellery manufacturer Harsh Sanghavi won from BJP with margin of over 30,000 votes against Congress candidate. Veteran 75-year-old trader of jeera, saunf, isabgol and sarson, Naran Patel, secured yet another five-year term in assembly from state’s spice capital Unjha, on a BJP ticket. Patel is an active member of the local spice traders association and owns assets worth Rs 3.15 crore.

The Gujarat Coopeative Milk Marketing Federation Limited (GCMMF) that markets Amul brand of dairy products, will have two MLAs on its board.Ramsinh Parmar and Rajendra Parmar, the chairman and vice-chairman, respectively, of the Kaira Union that controls GCMMF won again from Thasra and Borsad, respectively.

Panchmahal Union chairman and BJP candidate Jetha Bharwad has also won the election. However, agriculture minister in the Modi government, Dilip Sanghani, who is engaged with the Amreli Union, lost.