Gujarat assembly polls: Politics divide cricketer Ravindra Jadeja’s family

Congress leader Naynaba Jadeja

While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded cricketer Ravindra Jadeja’s wife Rivaba Jadeja from Jamnagar North in Gujarat, his sister Naynaba Jadeja is aggressively campaigning for the Congress.

Gujarat will vote for the 182-member assembly in two phases–on December 1 and 5. The results will be declared on December 8.

In a conversation with Moneycontrol, Naynaba said, “I too had staked a claim for a ticket from Jamnagar, but the party denied. There are senior leaders at the helm of the Congress who understand the ground situation better. Had they given me a ticket, the contest would have been between me and my sister-in-law.”

Naynaba, along with her father Aniruddhsinh Jadeja, joined the opposition Congress in April 2019. She was appointed the president of the District Women's Congress Committee and now elevated to secretary of the Gujarat Pradesh Mahila Congress Committee.

Naynaba, who is older than Ravindra Jadeja, has been campaigning door-to-door and holding public meetings in Jamnagar in support of Congress candidate Bhipendrasinh Jadeja. She campaigns for 10-12 hours a day.

“I believe in the ideology of the Congress. I did not get a ticket, but it’s my responsibility to leave no stone unturned and work for the party’s candidate, (Bhipendrasinh Jadeja), who is a senior leader and a popular face in Jamnagar,” said Naynaba.

The campaign she’s leading is targeted at BJP candidate and her sister-in-law Rivaba, who joined the saffron party ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

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Naynaba said political differences were always there in the family and India is a democratic nation where people have the right to have their choice and opinion. “There are numerous incidents of fathers and sons contesting each other. In our case too, it’s not a personal fight, it’s ideological,” said Naynaba.

“When I meet Ravindra Jadeja or his wife, I don’t discuss politics with them. Since 2019, we chose our parties, but we didn’t let it affect our relationship. They are fighting their battle and I am fighting mine,” she added.

The name of the young Rivaba Jadeja figured in the first list of candidates for the assembly elections. She was given the ticket after the party dropped incumbent legislator Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, also known as Hakubha.

Earlier, Rivaba had a stint in Karni Sena, an organisation that hit the headlines in 2018 for its protests against Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavat. She, along with her husband, have hit the ground running and are campaigning together.