Gujarat Elections 2022: 5 Points About Dalit Leader Jignesh Mevani

Jignesh Mevani, Vadgam MLA and working president of Gujarat Congress, is one of the most prominent Dalit faces in the state. Mr Mevani led the protests against the Una flogging incident in 2016 when seven Dalit youths were tortured in public view over allegations of cow smuggling.  Ahead of the Gujarat Assembly elections in 2017, Jignesh Mevani emerged as a strong leader and became a prominent voice against the ruling BJP.  

Here are five points about Jignesh Mevani

1.     Jignesh Mevani won the 2017 Gujarat assembly election from the Vadgam constituency as an Independent MLA. The Congress extended support to him by not fielding any candidate in the constituency.  

2. He defeated BJP's Vijaykumar Chakravarti by nearly 20,000 votes in the Vadgam constituency in 2017. Congress had moved its sitting MLA Manibhai Vaghela from the seat to the Idar constituency to support Mr Mevani.

3. He was appointed as one of the seven working presidents of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) in July this year.  

4.     In September, Jignesh Mevani was sentenced to 6-month imprisonment by an Ahmedabad court in a 2016 case. The case relates to protests demanding that the Law Bhavan in Gujarat University be named after Dr BR Ambedkar. An appellate court later granted bail to Mr Mevani and 18 others.

5.     Born on 11 December 1980 in Gujarat, Jignesh Mevani fought for Dalit rights soon after completing his studies. He is the convener of the Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch, a forum fighting for Dalit rights.