Gandhinagar, March 23 (IANS) Bhikhaji Thakor, the BJP’s newly-announced candidate for the Sabarkantha Lok Sabha seat, has opted out of the 2024 election race, citing personal reasons. His withdrawal was announced via a social media post.
His withdrawal comes in the wake of the growing controversy over his surname and caste identity.
The BJP had recently replaced its two-term representative Dipsinh Rathod with Bhikhaji Thakor in its second list of candidates.
However, Thakor’s nomination sparked a dispute over his surname, with viral social media posts alleging that he had previously used the surname ‘Damor’ before switching to ‘Thakor’.
This issue became contentious given the number of Kshatriya (Thakor) voters in the Sabarkantha constituency, with intensifying debates and discussions among the electorate.
Eventually, Thakor addressed these controversies at a press conference in Himmatnagar’s Circuit House, affirming his Thakor community credentials.
He highlighted his extensive involvement with the Other Backward Classes (OBC) front of the BJP and various state-level social organisations.
Thakor also pointed out that a substantial segment of voters in the region, who use the surname ‘Damor’, are being influenced by what he termed as Opposition propaganda.
The Thakor caste in Gujarat is a community predominantly found in the northern and central regions of the state.
India’s reservation system classifies them under the OBC category.
The Thakor community is mainly involved in agriculture and land-related occupations, but over time, many have diversified into various other sectors, including politics, business, and education.
–IANS
janvi/rad
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by BhaskarLive.in and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of BhaskarLive.in We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, BhaskarLive.in takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
