Gujarat: Navsari Congress candidate draws inspiration from Gandhi in election bid

Desai admits that he doesnt have money power and has to attract the attention of voters in Navsari -- a BJP bastion like the 25 other seats in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shahs home state.The 68-year-old is facing off against BJP stalwart and the partys Gujarat unit chief CR Paatil, whose victory margin of 6.9 lakh votes was the highest in the country in 2019.Accompanied by 200-300 Congress workers, Desais campaign begins with padayatras every day.

Clad in a dhoti and a vest, a bespectacled old man walking with a stick in hand and accompanied by a handful of supporters draws curious glances in Gujarat's Navsari city.

He is Naishadh Desai, the Congress' candidate in the Navsari Lok Sabha constituency, and this is his way of drawing voters' attention as he doesn't have the ''money power'' to compete with the BJP. ''I am undertaking padayatras like Gandhi ji did from Ahmedabad to Dandi during the historical Salt March of 1930,'' says Desai.

He didn't always look like this, however, deciding to change his look only after his candidature was announced.

''The day my name was declared, I shaved my head and started wearing a dhoti like Gandhi ji and took up a dando (big stick). I changed my dressing style and modelled my look on Mahatma Gandhi,'' Desai told PTI.

Taking a break during a padayatra (foot march), Desai opens up on his choice of clothing. ''I want to awaken people's conscience for values such as freedom and equality in these troubled times,'' he says. Desai admits that he doesn't have ''money power'' and has to attract the attention of voters in Navsari -- a BJP bastion like the 25 other seats in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah's home state.

The 68-year-old is facing off against BJP stalwart and the party's Gujarat unit chief CR Paatil, whose victory margin of 6.9 lakh votes was the highest in the country in 2019.

Accompanied by 200-300 Congress workers, Desai's campaign begins with padayatras every day. He visits various areas in Navsari in the sweltering heat to meet voters.

Desai said the Mahatma is his icon and he started dressing like him in the hope of awakening the public conscience.

''Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the Sabarmati Ashram (in Ahmedabad) and Rajghat in Delhi but his followers abuse Gandhi ji day in and day out,'' he alleged.

A trade union leader and former Congress spokesperson, Desai said he is working to keep the Mahatma's legacy alive.

''Dandi town falls under the Navsari constituency. Mahatma Gandhi's Salt Satyagraha shook the foundations of the British Empire as he aspired for freedom and equality. I am walking on his path for the same values in these troubled times,'' he said.

Desai also said his khadi clothes protect him from the scorching heat. ''The BJP has money and workers on its side, we don't have that. I have no option but to campaign in a unique way to highlight myself,'' he said.

Desai also claimed to have filed his nomination papers dressed like Gandhi.

''A few days ago, I took out a padayatra with 200 to 300 supporters in Navsari town and on Friday in Limbayat in the same attire,'' he said.

Desai's attire and his style of campaigning, however, have1 been dismissed by the BJP as a ''gimmick''.

The saffron party's Navsari district chief Bhurabhai Shah said ''The BJP's victory is certain. We will increase our margin this time.'' The Navsari Lok Sabha constituency encompasses seven assembly segments -- Limbayat, Udhna, Majura, Choryasi, Jalalpore, Navsari and Gandevi. Limbayat, Udhna, Majura and Choryasi are located in the urban areas of Surat city, where the BJP enjoys huge support. The Navsari assembly segment is also an urban area.

A total of 21.98 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the Navsari constituency. Having won all 26 seats in Gujarat during the last two general elections, the BJP has set a target to increase its victory margins this time.

Senior journalist Harish Parekh said Navsari is seeing some voter fatigue but people have no option other than the BJP.

''The situation in Navsari is the same as it was last time,'' he said. Explaining the demography of Navsari, Parekh said it is a highly urbanised constituency where migrant workers from other states are settled for work. ''CR Paatil is originally from Maharashtra. But, like last time, he will be re-elected with a huge margin,'' he added. Parekh also feels Desai's style of campaigning will not attract voters.

''It is irrelevant in the present time. Gandhi ji was great but these are different times. The youth and many voters will not be interested if you campaign in Gandhi ji's style at present,'' he said.

Mukesh Patel, a retail shop owner in Navsari, echoes Parekh.

He said he will vote for the BJP as it has ushered development in Gujarat and the rest of the country.

A local Congress leader, meanwhile, claimed the party erred in picking its candidates for the Navsari and the Surat seats.

''They have chosen weak candidates for Navsari and Surat. In Surat, the Congress nominee backed out and the BJP bagged the seat unopposed. In Navsari, if they (Congress leadership) had given a ticket to a strong candidate, he would have at least put up a tough fight,'' he said.

Paatil, a three-time MP from Navsari, is a confidante of Modi and Shah.

''People of Navsari will once again elect me to represent this seat,'' he has said. In the 2022 assembly polls in Gujarat, the BJP retained power by winning a record 156 seats in the 182-member House. Except Surat, the remaining 25 constituencies in Gujarat will vote on May 7.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)