- By JE News Desk
- Mon, 28 Nov 2022 04:45 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
AS the elections in Gujarat are all set to begin, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat has once again put its faith in five-time MLA and prominent Koli community leader Parshottam Solanki for Bhavnagar-Rural seat, despite his ill health.
The 61-year-old leader claims he has solved all the problems of the people of his Assembly segment, adding that they will vote for him. The Congress, on the other hand, is confident that he will not be able to overcome the anti-incumbency this time.
Ever since the Koli-community seat came into existence in 2012, Solanki who is referred to as 'Bhai' among his followers, has been winning the seat with comfortable margins.
In 2017, Solanki defeated Congress candidate Kantibhai Chauhan by a margin of more than 30,000 votes.
Speaking about the BJP candidate, a local leader said, "He is perhaps the only politician who never needs to campaign for himself. He hardly goes among people to seek votes for himself. Despite that, he always wins with a comfortable margin. Such is his clout among voters."
"Though Solanki is contesting himself, he has also been visiting other constituencies to ensure the victory of BJP candidates there because he is not worried about himself."
On being asked about the key issues on which he will seek votes for himself this time, Solanki laughed and claimed he has already resolved all the issues of the Bhavnagar-Rural seat.
"In case if I have missed anything, I will definitely try to resolve that issue if anyone draws my attention towards it. I am not made for politics. I work for the people because I love to do their work," Solanki was quoted saying by PTI recently.
Meanwhile, Bhavnagar district Congress president Rajendrasinh Gohil claimed price rise under the BJP is the biggest issue today.
"An LPG cylinder now costs more than Rs 1,000. Even people from the Koli community are angry because nothing concrete has been done by Parshottam Solanki for them till now. People are angry because he never meets them, forget about doing any work," he further claimed.
The Congress will convey to the voters that unlike Parshottam Solanki, the Congress candidate will remain available for them anytime and do their work, Rajendrasinh Gohil said.
(With inputs from agency)