The emphasis on “electability,” “acknowledging grassroots workers with nominations,” and the increased reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBC) in the local body elections scheduled for April 26 in Gujarat appears to overshadow traditional criteria of candidate qualifications, particularly regarding the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) elections.<\/p>\n
An analysis by The Indian Express of the affidavits submitted by nominees from the two leading political parties, the BJP and the Congress, reveals that approximately 65% of the 150 candidates from both parties vying for 76 seats have not attained higher education beyond the 12th grade or its equivalent.<\/p>\n
For the BJP, which has prided itself on having a diverse membership that includes numerous professionals and has established dedicated cells for various professions such as law, medicine, and education, the statistics are striking. Among the candidates put forth by the BJP for the VMC, 64.47% lack higher educational qualifications.<\/p>\n
Out of the 76 BJP candidates contesting from 19 wards, only 20 are graduates and seven hold postgraduate degrees, as detailed in their affidavits submitted to the State Election Commission (SEC). Furthermore, 11 candidates are school dropouts, while six completed their education at the Class 10 level.<\/p>\n
The BJP’s candidate list includes 11 individuals who completed Class 12, six diploma holders, and four candidates with certificates from Industrial Training Institutes (ITI). Notably, one candidate from Ward 14 did not provide any educational information.<\/p>\n
The Congress party, on the other hand, has 74 candidates after some withdrew their nominations from Ward 2 and Ward 11 on Wednesday. Among these candidates, 64.86% also lack a graduate degree, reflecting a similar trend in educational qualifications.<\/p>\n
Of the 74 candidates from the Congress, 10 are school dropouts, and nine have completed Class 10. Additionally, two candidates withdrew from their courses after finishing Class 10.<\/p>\n
The Congress has nominated 20 candidates who have completed Class 12, three with diplomas, and two holding ITI certificates. One candidate has no formal education, while another has completed Class 11. The party’s list includes 14 graduates, 10 postgraduates, and two individuals with PhDs.<\/p>\n
Historically, the BJP has included a substantial number of educated professionals, such as doctors and lawyers, in its ranks for the VMC. However, this election cycle sees the party fielding only a few professionals: two lawyers and a chartered accountant. One candidate from Ward 3 has obtained a Primary Teachers Certificate (PTC), a two-year diploma course in Gujarat for teacher qualification.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, in several wards, candidates with lesser educational qualifications have reported greater asset declarations than their more educated counterparts. For instance, in Ward 12, BJP candidate Sameer Vaghela, who has education up to Class 10, claims assets worth Rs 1.7 crore, while Congress candidate Sachin Mayavanshi, a postgraduate, has reported assets of Rs 4.95 lakh.<\/p>\n
The Congress party\u2019s potential Mayoral candidate in Ward 8 is Amar Vaghela, a Ph.D. holder and former NSUI leader, should the party secure victory in the elections.<\/p>\n
In Ward 3, BJP candidate Ranvijaysinh Jadeja, with education up to Class 9, has declared assets of Rs 2.5 crore, while Congress candidate Nilesh Patel, a graduate, has reported assets of Rs 53,000. Similarly, in Ward 17, BJP candidate Hiren Sukhadia, son of a former BJP MLA, has declared assets of approximately Rs 1.75 crore, whereas Congress candidate Parth Patel, a graduate, has assets worth Rs 4.83 lakh.<\/p>\n
In Ward 16, the asset declarations tell a different story, with Congress candidate Chandrakant Shrivastava, a Class 12 graduate, possessing assets around Rs 18.2 crore, compared to the BJP\u2019s Rajivranjan Tripathi, a diploma holder, with assets of about Rs 35 lakh.<\/p>\n
In Ward 9, Congress candidate Meena Vasava, a graduate, has declared assets of around Rs 2.25 lakh, while her BJP opponent Surekha Patel, who recently completed her term as a corporator, has declared assets of about Rs 48 lakh. Similarly, in Ward 3, Congress candidate Kruti Raval, a postgraduate, reports assets of Rs 5 lakh, facing off against Kalpana Patel of the BJP, a Class 12 graduate with assets of about Rs 40 lakh.<\/p>\n
Jayprakash Soni, the BJP’s city chief in Vadodara, explained to The Indian Express that the party has prioritized the commitment of grassroots workers. He stated, \u201cThe party has included various professionals… While we may not have many doctors this time, we do have lawyers and a CA. We have opted for grassroots workers dedicated to the party for over 30 years. In local elections, education is not the main criterion; we aim to represent all segments of society.\u201d<\/p>\n
Party leaders also noted that the introduction of the OBC reservation in this election cycle limited their candidate choices. A senior figure from the Congress party remarked, \u201cLocal elections are designed to honor grassroots workers, who typically do not have a chance in Assembly or Parliamentary elections. However, due to seat reservations, the options were constrained. Many local seats are situated in wards with slum areas, and the candidates must be locals. Not every segment of society has candidates with similar educational backgrounds.\u201d<\/p>\n
Congress city president Rutvij Joshi emphasized that candidates were selected to ensure a balanced representation in accordance with reservation requirements. He provided the example of Mayaben Basera, a long-time party member who earns a living through ironing clothes. Joshi noted that she is suitable for a reserved seat in her ward because of her community ties and loyalty to the party, despite not having formal education. \u201cIn local elections, candidates who can connect with voters at a grassroots level are prioritized… Our candidate list includes a significant number of postgraduates, and if…\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The emphasis on “electability,” “acknowledging grassroots workers with nominations,” and the increased reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBC) in the local body elections scheduled for April 26 in Gujarat appears to overshadow traditional criteria of candidate qualifications, particularly regarding the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) elections. An analysis by The Indian Express of the affidavits submitted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10412,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[512,78,40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-ahmedabad","category-in-cities","category-india"],"yoast_head":"\n