Congress' Jignesh Mevani wins second time from Vadgam

The 42-year-old Dalit leader Jigneshkumar Natvarlal Mevani has defeated Congress turncoat and Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Manibhai Vaghela by a margin of 4,928 votes.

Congress's Jignesh Mevani who contested 2022 Gujarat assembly election from Vadgam has defeated Bharatiya Janata Party's Manibhai Vaghela in a close battle, as per the Election Commission. Mevani, an MLA from Vadgam, had contested independently in the 2017 assembly election and won. He was supported by Congress and Aam Aadmi Party who did not field a candidate against him then. This was when Vaghela’s seat had been changed by Congress in which he lost and later swtiched to BJP.

Congress leader Jignesh Mevani speaks during a public meeting ahead of the Gujarat Assembly elections, in Ahmedabad.(PTI file)

The 42-year-old Dalit leader won by a margin of 4,928, securing nearly 95,000 votes.

A look at Jignesh Mevani’s political highlights:

1) This year, former journalist Jigneshkumar Natvarlal Mevani largely contested against Bharatiya Janata Party’s Manibhai Vaghela, a Congress turncoat who held the seat before him.

2) A staunch critic of the incumbent BJP, Mevani was among three independent candidates who won in Gujarat in 2017. He was supported by Congress and AAP who did not field a candidate against him. This was when Vaghela’s seat had been changed by the party and after the loss, he moved to BJP.

3) In May, he was sentenced to three months in jail for taking out an “Azadi March” in 2017. The rally was held to mark one year of the Una Dalit flogging incident. The incident marks when seven Dalits were flogged by ‘gau rakshaks’ for skinning a dead cow in Gujarat’s Una, the video of which had sparked outrage. Mevani was an AAP member then, working as a lawyer with Mukul Sinha's Jan Sangharsh Manch (JSM) when the incident happened. The Una case became a highlight of his life when he along with his friends formed the Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch (RDAM) and conducted a Dalit Mahasabha in Ahmedabad, days after the incident.

4) The 42-year Dalit activist turned MLA, enjoys massive support in his community and outside, reflected in his maiden election win. He holds a bachelor's degree in English literature and a PG Diploma in Journalism and is the convenor of RADM, a platform that works for the “struggle, identity, and being” of Dalits.

5) The outgoing Gujarat MLA was also arrested by Assam police in April for his offensive tweets targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi which his supporters termed as a “gross atrocity” against the young leader who has always “fought for the rights of the poor”.