Modi set to contest from Ellisbridge?

AHMEDABAD: Things seem to have come a full circle for Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi regarding the Ellisbridge constituency.

Five years after former home minister Haren Pandya was allegedly murdered in a feud over the coveted seat, Modi seems set to contest the impending 2007 elections from Ellisbridge.

However, other parties are trying hard to woo Haren Pandya’s widow, Jagruti, to contest from Ellisbridge. Congress sources admit that after the BJP snubbed her plea to reinvestigate her husband’s murder, she has had a falling out with the ruling party.

Ellisbridge’s electorate roll consists of over 2.21 lakh voters, mostly urban upper-middle-class people.

The constituency is believed to be a “safe” seat for Modi, as it has been with the BJP since 1995.Incumbent MLA Bhavin Seth is reportedly terminally ill and not likely to contest this year.