Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani to contest Gujarat election from Vadgam as an independent.

Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani to contest Gujarat election from Vadgam as an independent.Gujarat: Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani has announced that he will contest the upcoming Gujarat Assembly elections as an independent candidate from the Vadgam constituency.

The 36-year-old lawyer-activist is the head of the Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch and shot to prominence after the flogging incident in Una in July 2016. Four dalit men had been flogged on suspicion of having killed a cow.

Mevani made the announcement in a tweet on Monday morning. 

He is in the fray with BJP’s Vijaybhai Chakravati and Congress’s sitting MLA Manilal Vaghela.

Mevani is of the three young leaders who have galvanised their communities against the BJP. The others are Patidar leader Hardik Patel and OBC leader Alpesh Thakor. Mevani is the most articulate among the three, who are mobilising support in the rural areas.

Mevani had met with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, but had stopped short of declaring outright support for the party. He had at the time said he would not start a political party and would only campaign for votes against the BJP.

Bureau Report

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