After CM Bhupendra Patel, Sandeep Desai won with the second-largest victory margin of 1.86 lakh votes in Surat’s Choriyasi seat

Surat (Gujarat) : After Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, who is set to take the oath for the second time on December 12, Sandeep Desai of the BJP won the Choriyasi assembly seat with the second biggest victory margin of 1,86,418 votes in the Gujarat Elections.

CM Bhupendra Patel has broken his own 2017 biggest victory margin (1,17,750 votes) record as he won his Ghatlodia seat by 1,92,263 votes this time, which is again the highest in the state followed by 1,86,418 votes margin by BJP’s Sandeep Desai.

Desai, a cooperative leader in the Surat district is the BJP’s Surat District president and vice-president of the Surat District Bank and Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC), and the vice-chairman of the Surat Milk Union Limited or SUMUL.

BJP dropped its sitting MLA Zankhana Patel from the Choriyasi assembly seat and declared Sandeep Desai as its candidate. Desai faced stiff opposition from a section of the Koli Patels in Hazira and Magdalla. The Koli Patels demanded BJP field a Koli Patel candidate as the Choriyasi seat has a stronghold of the Koli Patels.

Despite the resentment from the Koli Patels in the coastal belt in Surat, BJP continued with its choice of candidate on the Choriyasi seat. Desai, who hails from the Anavil community, had less than 4,000 votes of his community members in Choriyasi, while the Koli Patels constituted about 1.60 lakh voter base.

Desai had a direct contest with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Prakash Contractor. Contractor is a prominent face among the people in the coastal belt of Choriyasi constituency as he has actively spearheaded campaigns against the polluting mills, NHAI, and raised the issues of the fishing community, unemployment among the youths etc.

Party sources said the Koli Patel voters stayed with the BJP and it was evident by the record victory margin with which Sandeep Desai won the seat. Desai has won the seat with the second-largest lead after CM Bhupendra Patel.