Morbi, Gujarat: Memories of last month’s tragedy, when a century-old suspension bridge over the Machhu river in the industrial town of Morbi that claimed 135 lives, are still fresh in the minds of locals.
,Jhulto Pool, Collapsed on 30 October, reportedly as a result of shoddy refurbishment and overcrowding. At least 135 people lost their lives in the accident, and more than 200 people were later rescued during a five-day operation by the Indian Coast Guard, Navy, National Disaster Response Force, local administration and other agencies.
While Morbi is slowly returning to normalcy, anger is palpable among the families of the dead. With Gujarat assembly elections round the corner, the perception that negligence on the part of officials led to the tragedy does not bode well for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has held Morbi for 27 years, except in 2017, when it lost Was. Congress only to win the seat back in the 2020 assembly bypolls.
The first phase of polling in Morbi will be held on December 1.
It was in this backdrop that the BJP decided to field its former five-time MLA Kantilal Amritiya in Morbi. her videos to break into The Machhu River was in news for rescuing survivors after the bridge collapsed.
Amritiya told ThePrint that there was nothing heroic in her decision to jump into the river to save people. “It’s my nature to help people,” he said.
Meanwhile, a BJP leader in Morbi said it was a strategic decision to field Amrutiya, who is well-liked among the locals. “It is not just him who jumped into the Macchu river to save people who fell from the bridge. He is always ahead to help the needy people. Be it the Macchu dam breach in 1976 or the 2001 earthquake, Kanhabhai (Amritiya) was always the first to reach out and help.
BJP workers who wished to remain anonymous claimed that Amritiya gave free medicines during the pandemic and set up a medical camp with 3,000 beds at 13 locations across the city. He said he also opened the garden at his residence to locals looking for a place to get married.
Perhaps this is the reason why Amritiya, or ‘Kanhalal’ as he is popularly known, is being projected here as the suave, ‘servant of the people’ face of the BJP.
Though Amrutiya had won Morbi for the BJP five times since 1995, he lost it to Brijesh Merja of the Congress in 2017 after the Patidar quota agitation that rocked the assembly elections in the state. merja terrorist For the BJP in June 2020, it necessitated a by-election later that year from the Morbi seat, which he again won but this time on a BJP ticket.
BJP sources said Merja was the frontrunner to get the ticket from Morbi. But subsequent reports of the bridge collapse and shoddy work by the contractor – Orewa Group – that carried out the incident, necessitated a rethink. “It was felt that under the current circumstances, Kanhabhai was our best bet,” sources said.
Amritiya is pitted against Jayantilal Jerajbhai Patel of the Congress, who unsuccessfully contested the 2020 bypoll against Merja. This is Patel’s seventh election, but he is yet to taste victory from the Morbi seat.
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‘Beware of trusting anyone till justice is served’
While the three major political parties in the fray in Morbi – the BJP, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) – are going all out to woo voters, families who lost their loved ones in the bridge collapse say they can’t trust anyone. They shy away from doing until they get justice.
Jamilaben Shah of Sipai Vas, who survived the bridge collapse but lost seven members of her family in the mishap, told ThePrint: “No candidate has come here to talk to us. How can we expect them to come when the Prime Minister himself is holding rallies while our dear ones are fighting for their lives?”
Claiming that they will not turn out to vote this year, the rest of her family members say they have no hope of getting justice.
Shabana Pathan (38), another resident of Morbi’s Sipahi Vas, said she has no complaints against the government, but wants the landlord to be there. Oreva Group – Those who are still absconding – have to be caught. Pathan said she is still struggling to believe in any party’s candidates. “Congress workers came here and told us to approach them if we needed any help. But we still shy away from trusting anyone till we get justice.”
When asked about assistance to the affected families, an official of the Morbi district administration, who did not wish to be named, said that the Gujarat government and the city administration tried their best to help the affected families financially. “The central government has given financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh and the state government Rs 4 lakh to the next of kin of each of the deceased. For 20 children who have lost either of their parents, Rs 25 lakh per child has been deposited into their bank accounts by the Adani Group,” he said.
The official said, “The seven children who were orphaned will be provided with an amount of Rs 3,000 per month. The royal family of Morbi has also promised an amount of over Rs 1 crore to the families of the victims.
While the BJP is banking on Amritiya’s popularity among the locals, the Congress and the AAP have made the government’s inaction on the Morbi bridge collapse their main poll plank.
Congress’s Morbi candidate Jayantilal Patel told ThePrint, “There is anger among the people over the inaction of the government. It is unfortunate that BJP is glorifying the rescue and relief work of the candidate. Even Congress helped people, but we did not make any video.”
BJP is trying its best to avoid opposition
The BJP is trying its best to ensure that the reverberations of the October 30 accident do not affect the party’s electoral prospects. To that effect, Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, along with several central and state BJP ministers were seen campaigning for Amritiya in Morbi.
The party has also set up a big set pandal The (tent) is in the heart of the city, where BJP workers and community leaders who are helping with the campaign are being fed everyday. The tents decorated with photographs of Amrutiya helping the locals can be seen serving refreshments to the locals every few minutes.
Asked how he lost the Morbi seat in 2017, Amrutiya said: “There were many movements going on at that time to finish the BJP. However, times have changed and we are confident of our victory.
Amrutiya is a popular figure in this industrial city from the way the locals talk about her.
Ranjit Singh (70), who runs a small paan shop near Shakti Chowk in Morbi, said Amritiya is “a kind person who responds every time someone reaches out to her”. “When he’s walking he’ll express his gratitude to big shop owners and small shop owners alike. I love that about him.
Maulik Pandit, who owns an electronics store in the area, said he felt the collapse of the bridge could affect the election results in Morbi. “BJP fielded Kanhabhai. He enjoys tremendous goodwill. Although the BJP government has done good work for the people of the state, but this year some people are worried and may consider other options.
Apart from her ability to garner votes, Amrutiya’s reputation as ‘Samari’ is another reason why the BJP is counting on her again in this election.
“He is a simple person who just wants to serve the people. still, during public relations In (public) meetings, he is interacting with people from nearby villages who are not even a part of his constituency. Till now, he has covered at least 200 kms in the city to meet and connect with his voters,” claimed a BJP worker, who did not wish to be named.
(Editing by Amritansh Arora)
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