Gujarat elections: How BJP wrested Godhra from Congress by 258 votes

AHMEDABAD: The BJP on Monday managed to wrest from the Congress the Godhra seat, which the saffron party had last won in 2002, in a nail-biting contest. C K Raulji, a Congress rebel who contested elections from the BJP this time, won the election by a thin margin of 258 votes over his nearest rival from the Congress. The BJP had last won the Godhra seat in 2002. It was at Godhra where a coach carrying religious activists was torched in February 2002, which had triggered communal violence across the state. The Congress fielded Rajendra Parmar, a former Janta Dal leader, from the seat this time. Parmar, who belongs to Bakshi Panch, a dominant OBC community in the town, was in direct contest with the sitting MLA Raulji. The another crucial candidate in the contest was Jashvantsinh Parmar, a BJP rebel and a doctor by profession. Like the Congress's candidate, Parmar also hails from the same Bakshi Panch community which has substantial presence in the constituency. There were also four Muslim candidates in the fray in Godhra, where one fourth of the population is from the community, but all of them lost their deposits.