New Delhi: Cricketer Ravindra Jadeja's father and sister on Thursday spoke about ideological differences in the family as the reason for supporting the Congress candidate for the Jamnagar seat instead of supporting Rivaba Jadeja who is contesting on a BJP ticket.
"Not the first time that it is happening. Several families in Jamnagar have members working for different parties. Be satisfied with your ideology, give your 100% and the better one will win," Congress leader and Rivaba Jadega's sister-in-law Naina Jadeja said, as quoted by news agency ANI.
"My love for my brother stays the same. My sister-in-law is a BJP candidate as of now. As a sister-in-law she is good," she said.
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Jamnagar North is a key constituency where voting is taking place in the first phase of the election. The contenders include BJP's Rivaba Jadeja, Congress party's Bipendrasinh Jadeja, and AAP's Karsan Karmur.
Speaking with ABP News, BJP candidate Rivaba Jadeja said, "This is not the first time that two people in a family have ideological differences. It's not important to have the same ideology. There can be a difference of opinion."
"My husband and I are connected with the same ideology of the BJP. So there is no state of confusion. He is supporting me and motivating me," she added.
Rivaba's father-in-law and cricketer Ravindra Jadeja's father Anirudhsinh Jadeja said, "I am with Congress. Party matter is different from family matter. We should stay with our party, been with them for years. He knows it is a party matter, no family problem", ANI reported.
The statements come as electors decide the fate of 788 candidates who are in the fray in this first phase of polling.
The voting is being held across 14,382 polling stations, of which 3,311 are in the urban and 11,071 in rural areas, as per the office of the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO).
This time, the BJP faces competition not just from its traditional rival Congress but also the new entrant Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has tried to position itself as the main challenger this time.
The BJP has ruled Gujarat for 27 years and is trying to retain power in the state for the seventh term in a row.
If it succeeds, it will equal the record of the Left Front government which won the West Bengal elections for seven consecutive terms till 2011.
The BJP and the Congress are contesting in all 89 seats. The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP is contesting 88 seats.