Jamnagar North Election 2022: Can Rivaba Jadeja make the lotus bloom again?

Jamnagar North, Gujarat election 2022: Jamnagar North assembly seat falls under the Jamnagar Lok Sabha constituency, which has been with the BJP since 2014. Part of the Jamnagar district, this seat came into existence in 2008. In the first election held in 2012, the Congress' Dharmendrasinh Jadeja bagged the constituency with 50.53 per cent votes. BJP's Mulubhai Ayar Bela came second with 42.78 per cent votes.

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In the next election, Dharmendrasinh contested on the saffron party ticket and won the seat for the BJP. This time, he garnered 58.95 per cent votes against 30 per cent of Congress' Ahir Jivanbhai Karubhai Kumbharvadiya. 

For this election, the BJP removed its sitting MLA to field Rivaba Jadeja, the wife of cricketer Ravindra Jadeja. 

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Rivaba's candidature from Jamnagar, home of Reliance's largest refinery, was announced just days after Parimal Nathwani, Director-Corporate Affairs at Reliance Industries Limited, appealed to all parties to give tickets to educated and civilised leaders for peace, safety, prosperity, and development.

Nathwani, in a tweet, urged all the political parties not to give tickets to candidates who would allow crime to flourish in Jamnagar.

Rivaba, who is opening her political innings, is taking on Bipendrasinh Jadeja of the Congress and Karsanbhai Karmur of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). She, however, is facing opposition from her own family members as her husband Ravindra Jadeja's father Aniruddhsinh Jadeja is backing the Congress.

The Jamnagar Lok Sabha constituency has largely been with the saffron party as BJP's Chandresh Patel Kordia won five consecutive terms from 1989 to 2004. In 2004, Congress' Ahir Vikrambhai Arjanbhai Madam Yadav won the seat and retained it till 2014. In 2014, the BJP again won back the seat from Congress.

In 2017, the saffron party won three of seven assembly segments falling under the Jamnagar parliamentary constituency, while one seat was vacant. The BJP was, however, leading in all segments in the parliamentary elections held in 2019. Going by that statistics, Rivaba may sail through and retain the seat for the BJP. 

In the last election, the contest was bipolar between the BJP and Congress. However, this time, the AAP's entry has made the contest three-way in Gujarat. Jamnagar North will vote in Phase 1 on December 1 (Thursday).