‘Satyamev Jayate’ — This was Congress leader Geniben Nagaji Thakor’s first reaction after she attained a decisive lead over her BJP rival, Dr Rekhaben Hiteshbhai Chaudhari, in Gujarat’s Banaskantha constituency as the Lok Sabha election results came in on Tuesday.
In a state where the Congress has not won a Lok Sabha seat in the last 10 years, Thakor opened a Congress account, spoiling the BJP’s third consecutive bid for a clean sweep in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state.
She crowdfunded her deposit, encouraging her constituents to help her financially with contributions as low as Rs 11. She promoted her QR code to receive donations and reached out to voters beyond the traditional party mechanisms.
Banaskantha is one of Gujarat's 26 Lok Sabha seats and is traditionally a BJP stronghold. In the 2019 general elections, BJP’s Parbatbhai Patel won the seat with a margin of 3,68,000 votes, defeating Congress candidate Parthi Bhatol.
Thakor, who is a two-time MLA, is known as a “giant killer” because she handed a defeat to the Gujarat assembly speaker in the 2017 elections.
Thakor said her win was a victory for the people of her constituency, even as the state Congress congratulated her.
“Heartiest congratulations to our sister Geniben for winning from Banaskantha by more than 15,000 votes,” said Gujarat Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil.
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