Ahmedabad: Although the BJP retained power in Gujarat, it lost the Unjha assembly constituency in Mehsana district, which includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi's hometown Vadnagar, to Congress.
Congress candidate Asha Patel defeated BJP nominee and sitting MLA Narayan Patel with a comfortable margin of over 19,000 votes to win the Unjha seat.
The 79-year-old BJP veteran had defeated Asha Patel (40) in the 2012 assembly elections.
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However, the picture changed this time following the Patel quota agitation and Thakor community's increasing leaning towards the Congress.
Out of the total 2.12 lakh voters of Unjha, over 77,000 are Patidars, while around 50,000 belong to the Thakor community.
Unjha is also known for the Umiya Mata temple, the reigning deity of Kadva Patel sect. Both Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi had held poll rallies in Vadnagar.
