BJP regains dominance in Gujarat's Botad APMC polls

Botad, July 12 (IANS) Cooperative leaders supported by the BJP have reclaimed authority over the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) in Gujarat's Botad, five years after suffering defeat at the hands of the Congress.

The electoral battle saw the BJP-backed candidates emerge victorious, overcoming party rebels as well as their rivals from the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

The voting followed by counting was held on Tuesday. In the vote count, the BJP-backed candidates secured an impressive 10 out of 14 seats, while a Congress-supported rebel group won four, and the AAP failed to secure any seats.

Dhirajlal Kalathiya, the former Botad APMC chairman, led the BJP's panel of candidates to victory, securing seven out of 10 seats in the farmers' constituency and three out of four seats in the traders' constituency.

Among the 14 outgoing board directors of the APMC, seven were in the running for re-election. However, only Kalathiya and former chairman Jivraj Patel emerged triumphant. Joru Dhadhal, Kanu Dhadhal, Arvind Saliya, and Ganpat Vanaliya, who had served as directors on the outgoing board, rebelled after being denied the BJP's endorsement for re-election. 

Unfortunately for them, they were all defeated in the farmers' constituency. Similarly, Suresh Barabhaya, a director from the traders' constituency who also rebelled, faced the same fate. Jivraj Patel was the only rebel to retain his seat.

The BJP's victory in the Botad APMC election reaffirms its position and influence within the cooperative leadership, while setting the stage for future developments in the agricultural market committee's operations.