In 2014 and 2019, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won both of the previous Lok Sabha elections handily.
This time, however, Gujarat was in for a surprise.
Congress has finally opened its account in the western state, thanks to Geniben Thakor’s crucial win.
Amid the chants of “Banas ni ben, Geniben,” the Congress MLA impressively gained ground on BJP rival Dr Rekhaben Chaudhari for the Banaskantha Lok Sabha seat.
By a margin of 30,406 votes, the 44-year-old defeated Chaudhari, a first-time contender who teaches mathematics at the government engineering college in Palanpur.
Here’s all we know about the Congress candidate.
Who is Geniben Thakor?
Born on 1 January 1975, Geniben Thakor is a two-time Congress MLA from Gujarat.
She graduated from Jain Vishva Bharati Institute Ladnun with a Bachelor of Arts degree (distance education), according to NDTV.
She made her electoral debut in 2012 when she unsuccessfully contested the Assembly elections from the Vav constituency.
The 44-year-old won against senior BJP candidate and Banas Dairy chairperson Shankar Chaudhary by a margin of more than 6,600 votes in the 2017 state elections, earning her the moniker “giant slayer.” In the 2022 elections, she held her seat against Swarupji Thakor of the BJP, as the grand-old party recorded its worst performance, winning only 17 seats.
OBC member Thakor is vocal about women’s issues, sometimes even supporting the Opposition parties.
As per Indian Express, last year, she supported the BJP during the Assembly’s Budget Session when she requested Speaker Shankar Chaudhary to change the Gujarat Registration of Marriages Act, 2006, so that the parents’ signature is required at the time of marriage registration and the birthplace of the girls is mentioned on birth certificates.
In 2019, Thakor backed her community’s decision to ban young girls from using cell phones, following multiple reports of love marriages.
She is also known for enforcing the liquor ban and taking a firm stance against alcohol. According to NDTV, her brother Ramesh Nagaji was found intoxicated and in possession of a large amount of alcohol last year. However, Thakor remained firm in her beliefs.
Thakor was one of the 16 MLAs that the Gujarat Assembly suspended from office last year for their opposition to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s removal from office as an MP.
She, along with 10 other Congress MLAs, faced suspension once more in February 2024 for their remarks regarding fictitious state government positions. Two Assembly meetings were covered under the one-day suspension.
This year, Thakor contested the general elections despite financial constraints. She crowdfunded her election campaign after Congress reportedly said it could not financially support its nominees.
According to the Indian Express, Gujarat Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil told reporters in March that his party did not have enough money for campaigning as the Centre government seized Rs 115.321 crore by freezing 11 bank accounts in a seven-year-old Income Tax case.
Why is the win crucial?
The state Congress congratulated Thakor, but she insisted that her triumph was a victory for the citizens of her constituency, as per News18.
“Heartiest congratulations to our sister Geniben for winning from Banaskantha by more than 15,000 votes,” said Gujarat Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil on X.
અમારી બહેન ગેનીબેનને પંદર હજાર કરતા વધારે મતથી બનાસકાંઠાથી વિજયી થયા તે બદલ હાર્દિક અભિનંદન .
— Shaktisinh Gohil MP (@shaktisinhgohil) June 4, 2024
There are various reasons why Thakor’s win is noteworthy.
In these Lok Sabha elections, she is the only Congress candidate to secure a seat from Gujarat.
Political pundits, according to Business Standard, credit Thakor’s triumph to both her strong grassroots ties and the huge backing she garnered from the powerful Thakor community, which is well-represented in Banaskantha.
Banaskantha, one of Gujarat’s 26 Lok Sabha constituencies, has always been a BJP stronghold.
The constituency is special since it is the only one in Gujarat where female candidates have been nominated by both the Congress and the BJP.
In the Lok Sabha elections of 2014 and 2019, the Congress failed to secure any seats in Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Parbatbhai Patel of the BJP defeated Parthi Bhatol of the Congress by a margin of 3,68,000 votes in the general elections of 2019.
2024 Lok Sabha election results
PM Modi declared victory for his NDA alliance on Tuesday in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
“Today’s victory is the victory of the world’s largest democracy," the Indian leader told the crowd at his party’s headquarters in the evening, saying Indian voters had “shown immense faith” both in his party and his NDA coalition.
PM Modi’s win was only the second time an Indian premier has retained power for a third term after the first PM Jawaharlal Nehru. Before the 73-year-old leader came to power, India had had coalition governments for 30 years.
The Prime Minister along with his Council of Ministers, tendered his resignation to President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday, 5 June. Accepting the resignation, the President has requested Modi and the Council of Ministers to continue till the new government assumes office.
On the other hand, the Opposition INDIA bloc won a total of 232 seats.
The Congress party won 99 seats, improving its tally from 52 in the 2019 elections.
Among its key allies, the Samajwadi Party won 37 seats in northern Uttar Pradesh state in a major upset for the BJP; All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) bagged 29 seats in West Bengal state; and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) 22 seats in southern Tamil Nadu state.
In the face of the surprising drop in the BJP’s support, the Congress has said the election has been a “moral and political loss” for PM Modi.
“This is the public’s victory and a win for democracy,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge told reporters.
More than 640 million votes were cast in the marathon election held over a span of six weeks in the world’s largest democratic exercise.
With inputs from agencies
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