Gujarat polls: Daily wager contesting as independent pays Rs 10,000 deposit to EC in Re 1 coins
Ahmedabad (PTI): A daily wage worker whose slum colony in Gujarat capital Gandhinagar was razed in 2019 to make way for a hotel, raised Rs 10,000 in Re 1 coins from his supporters and deposited that amount with the Election Commission so that he can contest the next month's Assembly polls.
Mahendra Patni, who is fighting the election from the Gandhinagar North seat as an independent candidate, paid the security deposit in coins earlier this week.
He said the displaced residents of 521 huts in a slum near Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar that were demolished three years ago, asked him to contest the election as their representative.
Patni was one of the residents of the slum which was twice displaced, first in 2010 when the government constructed the Dandi Kutir museum dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi not far from the hotel and then in 2019 when slum-dwellers were again forced to shift to a nearby area so that the hotel can be constructed on the land.
"I am contesting as an independent. I belong to a family of labourers and make my living as a daily wager. There were 521 huts which were razed to make way for a big hotel. Many of them were rendered jobless. We shifted to a nearby area, but have no water or electricity supply," he told PTI.
Aggrieved by the government's apathy, the residents of the slums as well as other daily wagers in the area collected Rs 10,000 in Re 1 coin and offered the money to him so that he can pay it as security deposit to contest the upcoming election, he said.
"Before being displaced, we had electricity in our slum. After we were forced to relocate to another area near the hotel, there is no water or electricity and no politician comes to our aid," Patni said.
He said the local authorities were forcing them to leave their current place as well.
"When elections are round the corner, some government representatives and politicians visit and give us some assurance which they conveniently forget later. This has been going on since 1990s," the independent candidate said.
He said he is being supported by the people who want just a few demands fulfilled from the government.
"If the government fulfills our demands, then I have no interest in contesting the election. We want the government to provide us a permanent space to live so we are not have to face another displacement.
"We also demand from the government to address the issue of regular harassment that daily wagers are subject to by civic authorities. They seize carts used for running small business and make poor people shell out Rs 2,500-3,000 to release them. This should stop," he said.
Patni said there should also be a BPL list of slum residents so that those who are taken by contractors for jobs in government offices get a permanent job and a proper salary and middlemen are removed.
Voting to elect a new 182-member Gujarat Assembly will be held in two phases - December 1 and 5 - and ballots will be counted on December 8.
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Kerala polls: ‘People rejected 10 years of misrule’, says AICC gen secy
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal on Monday said the Congress-led UDF’s sweeping victory in the Kerala Assembly polls was a clear verdict against the “arrogance”, corruption, and nepotism of the CPI(M)-led LDF government headed by CM Pinarayi Vijayan.
Addressing a press conference as counting of votes for all 140 Assembly constituencies neared completion, Venugopal said the outcome reflected public anger against what he termed “10 years of misrule” by the Left government.
He claimed that Vijayan’s victory in his home constituency, Dharmadam, was “only technical”, alleging that the CM trailed the UDF candidate in the initial rounds of counting and failed to secure a majority in his own village.
“He just escaped. He suffered a setback even in his home turf. He was the only person who did not realise the people’s mood in this election,” Venugopal said.
Alleging that the CPI(M) and the LDF had resorted to “communal and opportunistic politics”, he further claimed that the ruling front had entered into a “secret understanding” with the BJP in a bid to retain power for a third consecutive term.
He said that when a government driven by power and arrogance attempts to align with anyone to stay in office, even its own cadre turns against it.
Referring to the results, Venugopal said that while the UDF expected rebel CPI(M) leaders, including K Kunhikrishnan in Payyannur, to impact the vote share, their victories came as a surprise.
Describing the UDF’s performance as a “historic victory”, he attributed it to coordinated teamwork, grassroots mobilisation, and the dedication of party workers, adding that the alliance accepted the mandate “with humility”.
Venugopal also credited Rahul Gandhi’s campaign guarantees, calling them a “trump card” that helped voters focus on real issues and reject what he described as the LDF’s “false narratives”.
He claimed that the Congress witnessed one of its lowest levels of rebellion in this election, which contributed to the alliance’s strong performance.
The senior Congress leader further alleged that the BJP managed to win two seats with the help of the CPI(M), and asserted that forces attempting to divide society on communal lines should “learn a lesson” from Kerala’s verdict.
“This is the real Kerala story,” he said.
On the question of the next Chief Minister, Venugopal said the party leadership would decide at the earliest after due consultations.
The counting of votes began on Monday morning for all 140 Assembly constituencies in Kerala, where the Congress-led UDF secured a decisive majority, defeating the CPI(M)-led LDF, which was seeking an unprecedented third consecutive term in office.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) posts, "Thank you to my brothers and sisters in Keralam for a truly decisive mandate. Congratulations to every UDF leader and worker for a hard-fought, well-run campaign. As I said before, Keralam has the talent, Keralam has the potential… pic.twitter.com/6T4IZbEmp4
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 4, 2026
