Ahmedabad: Imran Khedawala, the sitting Congress MLA from Jamalpur-Khadia seat in Gujarat, took a lead over BJP candidate Bhushan Bhatt while AIMIM nominee Sabir Kabliwala was relegated to the third position, as per the latest poll counting trends available on Thursday.
Khedawala was ahead with 57,708 votes polled in his favour so far. Bhatt was at the second place with 44,007 votes.
Kabliwala, the former Congress MLA and currently All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen’s (AIMIM) state president, polled 15,631 votes so far, according to the figures available on the Election Commission’s website.
The entry of the Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM seems to have failed to damage the prospects of Khedawala.
Located in Ahmedabad city, Jamalpur-Khadia comprises 60 per cent voters, or 1,35,000, from the Muslim community, out of the total of nearly 2.31 lakh voters.
It is also the seat where all eyes were on whether the AIMIM could dent the prospects of the Congress candidate, who too belongs to the Muslim community, by dividing their votes.
Khedawala had based his campaign narrative around the work he had delivered in his constituency. He expected to win the election with the support of voters from both the Muslim and Hindu communities, and a dedicated base of workers.
BJP candidate Bhushan Bhatt, the son of former minister and ex-Speaker Ashok Bhatt, had during his poll campaign promised better healthcare and educational facilities to the voters by setting up smart schools and modern hospitals.
The seat came into existence in 2012 following delimitation.
A division of votes between two strong candidates from the Muslim community — one from the Congress and another Kabliwala, who then contested as an independent — had led to Bhatt’s victory.
The BJP leader, who was defeated in the 2017 election, contested this time. And so did Kabliwala, the then independent candidate who this time contested on AIMIM’s ticket.
In the triangular contest, Khedawala faced a challenge from Kabliwala. Both of them belong to the Chhipa Muslim community.
A total eight candidates were in the fray from the seat, including Aam Aadmi Party’s Harun Nagori, also from the Muslim community. Nagori failed to make a mark and polled 5,683 votes, as per the latest trends available on the EC’s website.
Two other independent nominees were also from the Muslim community.
