AHMEDABAD : The BJP’s Jamnagar candidate Poonam Maadam encountered resistance from members of Gujarat’s Rajput community, which is angry over the party’s Rajkot candidate Parshottam Rupala’s comments.
Rupala, attending a Dalit event on March 22 this year, had said that “the erstwhile ‘Maharajas’ broke bread with the British and also married off their daughters to them”, invited the ire of the Kshatriya community. The Saurashtra region of Gujarat had been on the boil ever since, with Rajput community demanding an apology from Rupala.
During a campaign in the city on Monday night, BJP’s Jamnagar candidate Poonam Maadam too encountered protests from youths brandishing black flags.
When stopped, Maadam shouted at the mob, saying, “Enough, now stop the protest and agitation.” The police on duty detained some Kshatriya youths, but released later.
Kishorsinh Jadeja, a Kshatriya youth, told media that Rajputs are not only angry with Rupala. “We are angry with the party too. Our demand was very simple, to withdraw Rupala from the fray. But the ruling party did not agree.”
Campaigning had become difficult for Maadam. Party sources said she could not address a small gathering just 100 metres away from her residence in Jamnagar.