Maninagar is like a Dadar of Mumbai and has assumed an important position on India’s map ever since Narendra Modi chose it as his constituency.
MANINAGAR: Though a small suburb of southern Ahmedabad, Maninagar is like a Dadar of Mumbai and has assumed an important position on India’s map ever since Narendra Modi chose it as his constituency. Elected to the assembly in 2002, Modi has once again preferred Maninagar for his second term.
His association with this constituency is very old. He has traversed on the lanes and by-lanes on his bicycle and then on his two wheeler for past three decades.He started his political career as a small time worker of RSS. He used too live in a small room of the Dr Hedgewar Bhavan - the state headquarters of RSS. He knows almost each and every family in this higher middle class area dominated by textile technicians and traders and businessmen belonging to Patels, Banias and Brahmins.
As an MLA from this place, Modi has sanctioned huge amount for several new facilities. It is only at the behest of Modi that the BJP-ruled Ahmedbad Municipal Corporation has undertaken total renovation of historic Kankaria lake at the cost of Rs134 crore. The people of this area considered themselves lucky and proud as their representative is a chief minister.
And if one goes by the statistics of the assembly and Lok sabha elections, the BJP is literally ruling the roost as three lakh electorate have always elected a BJP nominee to the assembly and the Lok Sabha.
Modi`s election-in-charge Kamlesh Patel has won assembly election thrice since 1991. And Patel had volunteered his seat to Modi in the last election. In the Lok sabha elections, senior BJP leader Harin Pathakk has won five consecutive terms. This is for the first time that the opposition Congress has fielded a formidable candidate like Dinsha Patel against Modi. But for the BJP cadres, Dinsha is an outsider and said he has not done anything for Maninagar and does not hold any ground in this constituency though it has a sizable number of Patel voters.
The number of patel voters is around 42,000 and that of Banias 22,000 of which 12,000 are vaishnavites and 10,000 jains.and 26,000 brahmins. There are 11,000 Muslims and 9,000 Christians. Interestingly, there are 1,612 Modis also live in this constituency. “We are not at all disturbed by candidature of Dinsha Patel as he was defeated by a district level leader Pankaj Desai in Nadiad, the home town of the minister in the last assembly election in 2002.” said Patel when asked whether the Congress decision would affect the poll prospects of Modi. However, the poll managers of Modi have decided to concentrate on housing colonies of Patels in Maninagar.
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