BJP faces stiff challenge in Morbi constituency after bridge collapse

 Morbi assembly seat is one of the 182 constituencies of Gujarat which falls under the Kachchh Lok Sabha segment. The recent bridge collapse, which claimed 135 lives, has drawn attention to this Patidar-dominated constituency. Currently, the Bharatiya Janata Paraty (BJP) holds the seat but it will be interesting to see how people vote after the tragic incident.

The ruling BJP has its task cut out at this seat as the Opposition launched a scathing attack on chief minister Bhupendra Patel-led government. The recent bridge collapse, which claimed 135 lives, has drawn attention to this Patidar-dominated constituency. In 2017, the five-term MLA Kanti Amrutiya of the BJP lost elections to Congress’ Brijesh Merja at the height of the Patidar movement. 

While Morbi is slowly returning to normalcy, one can sense palpable anger among the families of the deceased. With the Gujarat assembly elections around the corner, the notion that negligence on the part of authorities led to the tragedy does not augur well for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has held Morbi for 27 years, except in 2017 when it lost the seat to the Congress only to win it back in the 2020 assembly bypolls.Morbi will vote in the first phase of the elections on 1 December.