Congress opens account in Gujarat with victory of Geniben Thakor, who crowdfunded her poll campaign
New Delhi/IBNS: After two successive clean sweeps by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in their stronghold Gujarat, the Congress finally managed to open its account in the politically crucial state with the victory of Geniben Thakor from Banaskantha Lok Sabha seat.
What makes the win even more special is that she defeated BJP's Rekhaben Chaudhari, who is a two-time MLA from the Vav seat, by a margin of 30,406 votes.
Who is Geniben Thakor?
Born on January 1, 1975, Geniben Thakor holds a BA degree (distance education) from Jain Vishva Bharati Institute Ladnun and made her electoral debut in 2012 when she unsuccessfully contested the assembly elections from the Vav constituency.
Five years later she defeated senior BJP leader Shankar Chaudhary by over 6,000 votes in Gujarat Assembly elections earning the moniker "giant slayer". She retained her seat in the 2022 elections.
She was one of the 16 MLAs suspended by the Gujarat Assembly last year for protesting against the suspension of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as an MP.
In February 2024, Thakor and 10 other Congress MLAs were suspended again for speaking about fake government offices in the state. The suspension lasted a day, covering two Assembly meetings.
In 2024, Thakor, despite facing financial constraints, decided to contest the general elections with crowdfunding after Congress said it wasn't in a position to financially back its nominees.
Thakor is known for her strong stand against alcohol and for implementing the liquor ban.
Last year, her brother, Ramesh Nagaji, was caught in a drunken state and with a huge quantity of alcohol. Thakor didn't back down from her stance, even when it involved her family.
She also advocated for amendments to the Marriage Act and proposed to make parental signatures mandatory for marriage registrations while insisting that such registrations occur in the taluka where the couple lives.
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