Rivaba Jadeja, BJP's Jamnagar North candidate and the wife of cricketer Ravindra Jadeja, has brushed aside rumours of confusion within her husband's family after her in-laws chose to support Congress in the elections.
"There is no difficulty. There can be people of different ideologies in the same family," Rivaba Jadeja told reporters as she came to cast her vote. "I have trust in the people of Jamnagar, we will focus on overall development, and this time as well BJP will win by a good margin," she added.
Earlier the day, Rivaba's sister-in-law Naynaba Jadeja had told ANI that it was not "Jadeja versus Jadeja" in Jamnagar.
Naynaba Jadeja, sister-in-law of Rivaba, who campaigned for Congress, too clarified that it’s not "Jadeja versus Jadeja" in Jamnagar because several families in Jamnagar have members working for different parties.
"This is not happening for the first time. Several families in Jamnagar have members working for different parties. Be satisfied with your ideology, give your 100 per cent and the better one will win," Naynaba added.
Both Naynaba and her father Anirudhsinh Jadeja are Congress supporters. Anirudhsinh too had maintained that he is with Congress as "party matters are different from family matters."
Naynabha, though, praised her sister Rivaba. "My love for my brother stays the same. My sister-in-law is a BJP candidate as of now (but) as a sister-in-law she is good," she was quoted by the news agency ANI.
Interestingly, Naynabha was a contender for the Jamnagar North seat for Congress but it went to Bipendrasinh Jadeja, for whom she now campaigns. BJP, on the other hand, dropped its sitting MLA Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, in favour of Rivaba.
Active in the poll scene, Naynabha has slammed BJP for the price rise, claiming that it only makes promises to people but never fulfils them.
Jamnagar North, an urban constituency, is expected to be a BJP stronghold by Naynaba and the Congress believes they can spring a surprise.
According to her, Jamnagar North is essentially a Congress seat and the BJP won it only after the incumbent MLA crossed over to the saffron camp. "Even the winning BJP candidate was a Congressman who won on his appeal, and our party will score this time," she told PTI.
The AAP has fielded Karsan Karmur, who had quit the BJP to join it last year.
Rivaba, on her part, also carries the tag of an "outsider," though BJP argues that she has been working for the party since 2019, along with her husband Ravindra Jadeja. A degree holder in mechanical engineering, she was born and raised in Rajkot while her husband is from Jamnagar. Before joining the BJP, she was in Karni Sena, a Rajput group.
