2 Christian Candidates In A First In This Tribal-Reserved Seat In Gujarat

Gujarat polls: Christians account for nearly 40,000, or 20%, of the total 2.20 lakh voters in the Vyara assembly seat.

The Vyara Assembly seat, which gave Gujarat its first tribal chief minister Amarsinh Chaudhary, will for the first time see a contest between two Christian candidates fielded by the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress.

While the Congress has given the ticket to its sitting MLA Punabhai Gamit from the seat, reserved for Scheduled Tribe candidates, the BJP has for the first time fielded a Christian candidate, Mohan Konkani, to take on the four-time legislator.

Mr Gamit says Christian voters will again support the Congress, while Mr Konkani claims people will vote for the BJP because of the development carried out by the party's government in the state.

Political analysts say the Congress's approach of taking the marginalised sections together has helped it in winning tribal-dominated seats, while the BJP will have to do a rethinking to win in Vyara, considering the social dynamics in this Assembly segment.