No permanent enemy or friend in the field, proves Gujarat politics again
Updated: Mar 30th, 2024
“This is quite a game, politics. There are no permanent enemies, and no permanent friends, only permanent interest,” the line, often credited to William Clay, has found its meaning once again with Gujarat politics with Lok Sabha and bye elections inching close.
Senior politician Arjun Modhwadia and the former minister Babubhai Bokharia, who were once so-called political opponents, are sitting together. There once was a time when Modhwadia even declared the criminal history of Babubhai Bokhiria and contested against him in elections.
Today, the staunch opponents of the past are seen sitting together today.
Another such incident is from Khambhat constituency, where former MLA Mayur Rawal contested against Congress candidate Chirag Patel in the 2022 elections.
But now, Patel and Rawal are appearing together at public events, on stage, and at the dinner tables.
Kheda Congress president and present Kathlal MLA Rajesh Zala once campaigned for former Congress MLA Kalu Singh Dabhi to get him a ticket in the Lok Sabha elections 2019.Later, Zala joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and then got elected as MLA, and whereas Kalu Singh is contesting Lok Sabha election from Congress.
In 2017, Geni Thakor was a candidate from Vav and Alpesh Thakor campaigned for Geni through a video message , promoting the latter’s majority.
However, now the political equation is different where Geni Thakor is the candidate from Banaskantha with Congress and Alpesh Thakor is the Gandhinagar Dakshin MLA of BJP.
During the same elections, BJP contender Gajendrasinh Parmar defeated Congress’ then candidate Mahendrasinh Baraiya on Prantij seat.
However, the political landscape took a different turn since Baraiya joined BJP in 2022. Now, for the upcoming elections, Baraiya’s wife Sobhna Baraiya has the ticket for the Sabarkantha seat, creating an internal ruckus among the staunch local BJP leaders.
As the tables have turned, the foes are now friends with Parmar having Baraiya’s back with the campaigns.
Also read:
