DAYS after he discovered himself out within the chilly, as his social gathering NCP cast an alliance with the Congress, Kandhal Jadeja has discovered a brand new dwelling, within the Samajwadi Social gathering.
The 2-time MLA from Kutiyana seat in Porbandar district, the son of the late ‘Godmother’ Santokben Jadeja, and a strongman with a number of homicide instances towards him over time, Jadeja has secured the SP ticket from Kutiyana – residing as much as the risk that he wouldn’t fade away quietly.
Santokben too had received the Kutiyana seat in 1990 as a candidate of the Janata Dal.
On November 11, Jadeja had led a crowd to file his nomination as a candidate of the NCP, earlier than the social gathering apparently gave him the go-ahead. The NCP was in negotiations with the Congress for a seat-sharing association on the time. This resulted in three seats coming to the NCP, Umreth, Naroda and Devgadh Baria – that means Kutiyana was left for a Congress candidate.
The Congress has since fielded Nathabhai Odedara from the seat, whereas the BJP ticket has gone to Kutiyana Municipality chief Dheliben Odedara.
Jadeja’s workplace stated that he has now filed a recent set of nomination papers as a candidate of the SP, which claims to be fielding 23 nominees for the Meeting elections. SP Gujarat unit basic secretary Ram Sevak Sahani confirmed the social gathering’s assist to Jadeja, including: “He needs to contest the election as an official nominee of the SP. We now have assured him our full assist even when his nomination papers as an SP candidate are rejected on technical grounds (as he earlier filed papers as an NCP nominee) and he has to contest as an Impartial.”
Earlier within the day, in his resignation letter, Jadeja, 50, wrote about being “the lone candidate from the NCP to emerge victorious within the 2017 Meeting election”. “I had set a document and remained loyal to the social gathering. And but, I’ve been denied a celebration ticket,” he stated. Efforts to achieve him weren’t profitable.
Jadeja first received from Kutiyana in 2012 as an NCP candidate, when the social gathering had a ballot alliance with the Congress. He received once more in 2017 although the NCP and Congress had parted methods, and even NCP Gujarat chief Jayant Patel didn’t win.
Within the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress had fielded Jadeja from the Porbandar seat. Nonetheless, he had misplaced to sitting MP Vitthal Radadiya of the BJP.
Jadeja’s equation with NCP leaders had been strained since August 2017, when he backed BJP candidates within the Rajya Sabha elections, although the NCP had a tie-up with the Congress. He repeated the identical within the Rajya Sabha elections in 2020, ignoring the NCP’s warnings.
Saying that they’d accepted Jadeja’s resignation, the NCP state chief stated: “That could be a closed chapter now. A bahu gadbad karta (He was inflicting a lot of mischief) by voting for others whereas we’re a constituent of the UPA. I used to get reprimanded by the social gathering excessive command each time… We now have misplaced a employee who had the power to win elections, however social gathering self-discipline issues.”
SP chief Sahani claimed they’ve “ties with the Jadejas going again a few years”. “When Bhura Munja (Kandhal’s uncle) had contested Lok Sabha elections, Netaji (late SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav) had campaigned for him,” Sahani stated.
Requested about Jadeja’s felony background, the SP chief refused to remark.
Belonging to the Mer neighborhood of Porbandar, Jadeja was convicted in April this yr by a Rajkot courtroom for escaping from judicial custody in 2007, and sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment and a fantastic of Rs 10,000. His spouse Manisha Karavadra was additionally an accused, together with 11 others, however they have been acquitted for need of proof.
The case associated to Jadeja’s escape from a Rajkot hospital whereas he was underneath judicial custody on fees of murdering BJP councillor Keshu Odedra in 2005. For the homicide, the accused have been Santokben, her three different sons – Karan, Bhoja and Kano – and 5 extra. In 2011, whereas the case of escape from judicial custody was pending towards Jadeja, a Porbandar courtroom had acquitted him and 9 others within the homicide case for need of proof.
Jadeja had earlier stood trial within the homicide of 1 Prakash Modha in 1995, however was acquitted by a Porbandar courtroom in 2006. In March final yr, Jadeja and 6 others have been acquitted in a 2018 case of allegedly threatening and abusing a Porbandar hotelier.
He has confronted instances underneath the now-repealed TADA Act in addition to underneath the Explosives Act, and fees of rioting, forgery, resisting lawful custody, felony intention to commit extortion, voluntarily inflicting harm, felony intimidation, inflicting disappearance of proof and so forth. His affidavit exhibits one TADA case nonetheless pending towards his title.