BJP's Rivaba Jadeja, Cricketer Ravindra Jadeja's Wife, Wins Gujarat Seat

Rivaba Jadeja, the wife of cricketer Ravindra Jadeja, and the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from the Jamnagar North constituency in the Gujarat Assembly elections, has won with over 57 per cent vote share. Aam Aadmi Party's Karshanbhai Karmur, with 23 per cent votes, was her closest competitor, and Bipendrasinh Chatursinh Jadeja from Congress came third with 15.5 per cent votes.

A relative of Congress veteran Hari Singh Solanki, Rivaba Jadeja joined the BJP in 2019, three years after marrying into a family mostly of Congress supporters. Earlier, her father-in-law had appealed to people to vote for the Congress in a video that went viral. Her sister-in-law Naynaba Jadeja, a Congress leader, also campaigned for her party candidate.

Naynaba Jadeja, her sister-in-law, had said it's not "Jadeja versus Jadeja" in Jamnagar as there were many families like this in Jamnagar with ideological differences.

"My love for my brother stays the same. My sister-in-law is a BJP candidate as of now. As a sister-in-law she is good," she had said.

"In our family, we have freedom. Our family members can do whatever they want to do. They have the right to do that," added Naynaba Jadeja.

Soon after her father-in-law's video emerged, Rivaba Jadeja had brushed off speculation of a feud within the family and had said her husband backed her.

Jamnagar North voted in the first round of the Gujarat elections.

The BJP is all set for a massive victory, with a record seventh consecutive term in office. The BJP is ahead in 158 seats in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's homestead.

The record was earlier held by the Congress, which won 149 seats in the 1985 state polls.