Gujarat: The Upcoming Gujarat elections which will be held in two phases on December 9 and 14 will see a tough fight from Dalit activist and Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch leader and lawyer Jignesh Mevani, who will be contesting the elections as an Independent candidate.
Mr. Jignesh, who came into lime light after he held a protest from Ahmedabad to Una against the thrashing of Dalit skinners, has decided to contest from Vadgam constituency in Banaskantha district. He appealed to the people for crowd funding to contest the polls.
Jignesh Mevani also pledged that he does not want to take funds from corporate houses. In this context, Mr. Jignesh Mevani wrote an open letter to people appealing for funds “We are a one-and-a-half-year-old Dalit rights group which has never received funds from any political party, corporates, NGOs or funding agencies. Our organisation, namely the Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch, works and survives with people’s contributions, the motto being ‘Janta ki ladayi, janta ke paiso se’ (the people’s fight through the people’s money).”
Mr. Jignesh Mevani met Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and pledged his support to grand old party Congress. However, Jignesh clarified that he was not joining Congress Party. He said that his main aim is to defeat BJP.