A triangular fight seems to be on the cards in the coming Lok Sabha elections for the Union territory of Daman & Diu. The ballot bout is expected to be between two-time sitting MP and Congress candidate Dahya Patel, BJP candidate Lalu Patel and ex-MP Gopal Tandel who has joined the NCP.
Tandel, a former Congress MP, had contested on a BJP ticket in the last election, but has filed his nomination as an NCP candidate for this poll. Earlier, he was planning to fight as an Independent after being denied nomination by the BJP.
Dahya Patel and Lalu Patel belong to the dominant Koli Patel community, and would be vying for its votes, while Tandel is from the fishermen’s community. The other key voter communities include Muslims, tribals, Christians, migrants from the Hindi belt and South Indians. Around 62,000 voters are from Daman, while those from Diu number 32,000.
The Congress is banking on the charisma of party president Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi, and development mantra for winning the seat for the third consecutive time, but it could face a few hiccups in its quest. Livelihood problems faced by fishermen and lack of jobs for locals could harm its prospects. Allegations of corruption against the sitting MP and anti-incumbency factor could also work against it. On the other hand, increase in the number of urban voters could go in BJP’s favour.
Moreover, Gopal Tandel’s entry in the poll fray could change the equations. Tandel, who has fought six LS elections so far, was elected MP twice on a Congress ticket.
Poll analysts say that Tandel may not win the seat, but he could play spoilsport for the sitting MP, as the victory margin in this constituency is generally very small. In 2004, Patel had defeated Tandel by a margin of 607 votes only.
“We are confident of a hat-trick by my father, Dahyabhai Patel. We are going to contest the poll on the plank of development,” Ketan, who is president of Daman & Diu Congress, said.
Though the Congress and the BJP are not willing to admit it, both parties are wary of Tandel’s plan to contest as an Independent.
“Gopal Tandel’s decision to fight election does not make any difference to us. It will harm the BJP,’’ Dahya Patel said. The BJP, on its part, tried to convince Tandel to return to the party fold.
“Congress MP Dahya Patel has failed on all fronts, and we are confident of winning the seat this time. Tandel was upset with BJP for denying him ticket, but we tried to convince him to come back to the party fold,” Vasu Patel, president of Daman BJP, said.
“I got a survey done, in which an overwhelming majority of voters spoke in my favour. I am contesting on NCP ticket and will defeat both the Congress and BJP,” Tandel said.
Wary of anti-incumbency factor, and as part of its bid to project the youth, the Congress was seriously toying with the idea of fielding a fresh candidate. In fact, Dahya Patel’s son, Ketan, had emerged as a strong contender for ticket, with many in the party favouring him over his father. However, Ketan withdrew his name from the race, paving the way for Dahya’s re-nomination as the party candidate.
