I am sure of victory: Shaktisinh Gohil

Congress candidate from Bhavnagar rural, Shaktisinh Gohil, is the face of the Congress in Saurashtra. For the young ambitious leader, a defeat in this election will be a setback he'd rather not have. Unlike BJP's Parshottam Solanki, Gohil is very confident that he will win. On a hectic Wednesday, Gohil is brisk yet calm. In a quick chat with DNA, he explained why Solanki must and will lose. Excerpts:

Will you win?
Absolutely. I will win, you will see for yourself on (December) 20.

Why are you so confident?
Because Solanki is a lousy candidate. My biggest advantage is my clean record while his criminal record is the worst (liability).

When has that stopped voters from electing a candidate? It is always caste combinations which make the final cut!
That is not necessarily always the case. He will lose all white collar voters because of his criminal background (approximately 25,000), irrespective of the caste. In the last few months, he has used all his muscle and money power to woo voters. He is causing serious divisions between communities to seek votes on his community plank. I am confident it will not work. People are smarter now.

Modi has tried his best to defeat me. He has worked very hard in the last few months, campaigned here multiple times, sent celebrities to campaign here, sent Narhari Amin here. There was no response to Amin's rallies. The results will speak. I don't want to say anything more.