Gujarat Congress has once again selected Jagat Shukla for candidature on Khadia assembly seat.

Jagat Shukla is considered as a ‘by-default’ choice of Congress party when it comes to assembly election in Khadia. He has been Congress party’s candidate on this seat even before, however he was defeated by towering BJP leader and Khadia MLA Shri Ashok Bhatt who is now no more. Shukla however was not Congress candidate in last assembly election. Chetan Rawal, a TV actor and son of late Congress minister Prabodh Rawal was Congress candidate of Khadia seat in 2007.

Late Shri Ashok Bhatt’s death last year made Khadia seat unoccupied which resulted into an announcement of by-election on this seat which is scheduled to take place on February 14.

While Congress has selected its candidate earlier to give him enough time to start canvassing, the BJP is still in decision process. Names in discussion are ; Bhushan Bhatt – son of late Shri Ashok Bhatt, Mayur Dave – sitting councilor, Bimal Shah – Kheda district BJP President and former minister of state for Transport, Kamlesh Patel – Gujarat Tourism Corporation Chairman and former MLA. However Modi can choose anyone for this seat.

Khadia is traditionally a BJP seat, however Congress would love to snatch this seat in absence of Ashok Bhatt. Congress would concentrate on backward class and Muslim votes, and will also try to take benefit from groupism in Khadia BJP.

In next general assembly election of 2012 December in Gujarat, the election for Khadia seat will be fought under new delimitation. This would completely change the scenario of this area’s politics. Because due to merger with Jamalpur, the constituency will have majority of Muslim population, and thus there are ample chances that the Hindus of Khadia will have Muslim MLA of Congress at that time. In view of this, the people of Khadia are being told by the Congress party that they should vote Jagat Shukla, their Hindu candidate in this byelection and should make him a winner, so that he can be a proven and tasted Congress contender for party’t ticket of Khadia in 2012 general assembly election too. Such situation would save Khadia from Muslim candidate of Congress eventually in 2012.

It should be mentioned here that thanks to Ashok Bhatt and his team(including his son who is councilor in AMC and local builder), Khadia has remained only Hindu area in wall city of Ahmedabad. To increase Hindu population in Khadia, late Bhatt senior encouraged and his son Bhatt junior practiced conversion of single house into a flat. This has helped in retention of Hindu population here, and somewhat increase in number too. Most of the new buyers of flats in Khadia are Marwaris who are in ornament or vegetables trading business. The old charm of upper cast middle class Gujarati area is diminishing, but it is replaced by other Hindus, while in other areas of wall city the Hindus are replaced by Muslims.