Murdered BJP leader Haren Pandya's wife Jagruti Pandya on Saturday objected strongly to an alleged statement by Ellisbridge MLA Rakesh Shah comparing the party's vote share in the constituency during his tenure with that during her husband's time.
Mr Shah, however, said he never spoke about the party's vote share in this constituency located in Ahmedabad city when Haren Pandya won from it twice in the 1990s.
In a letter to the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) city unit chief Amit Shah, Ms Pandya quoted a media report where Rakesh Shah allegedly said that compared to 66 per cent votes won by Haren Pandya in 1995, the party's vote share rose to 80 per cent when he contested.
Jagruti Pandya noted that when her late husband contested for the first time from the seat in 1990 on BJP ticket, the party got only 5.45 per cent votes.
"With his untiring effort, my husband created a distinct place for BJP among voters, and in 1995 he got 72 per cent votes and the party emerged victorious," she said.
Haren Pandya died in an "unfortunate incident", she added, referring to his murder in 2003.
"While the unfortunate incident is still alive in everyone's heart, (Rakesh) Shah has destroyed its memory with his indecent and jealous political statement," she claimed, terming it "hurtful".
As per the Election Commission data, Haren Pandya's vote share of 77.43 per cent in 1998 is the highest in the constituency so far.
He won the seat in 1995 and 1998, but did not contest in 2002.
Jagruti Pandya further wrote in the letter that Rakesh Shah's purported statement ahead of Assembly elections damages the image of the entire party, and he should be asked to withdraw it.
When asked for comment, Rakesh Shah told PTI that he never compared his and Pandya's respective vote shares.
All he said during the newspaper interview was that vote share of the BJP has risen consistently, he said.
Haren Pandya was home minister in the Keshubhai Patel government in 1998. He was made minister of state for revenue when Narendra Modi took over as Gujarat chief minister in 2001.
On March 26, 2003, Haren Pandya was shot dead during morning walk.
Rakesh Shah won from the seat in 2007, 2012 and 2017. This time the BJP has fielded city unit president Amit Shah from the seat.
As per the Election Commission data, in 1995 Pandya polled 71.44 per cent votes, while in 1998 he got 77.43 percent votes.
Rakesh Shah polled 72.22, 70.57 and 74.85 per cent votes in 2007, 2012 and 2017.
"I told the reporter that the vote share of BJP rises in every election. I did not mention Haren Pandya....I am not clear about Haren Pandya's vote share," Shah told PTI.
According to the Central Bureau of Investigation, Haren Pandya was murdered to avenge the 2002 communal riots in the state.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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