Gujarat: Cricketer Ravindra Jadeja's sister, Naynaba, a Congress candidate contesting from Rajkot Ward No. 2, has been defeated in the 2026 Gujarat local body polls. The polling was held on Sunday for elections to 15 municipal corporations, 84 municipalities, 34 district panchayats and 260 taluka panchayats.
The results from Rajkot come as a strong blow to the Congress, as the party had hoped that the influence of the Jadeja family would make it easier to win the seat. However, notably, Ravindra Jadeja's wife, Rivaba, is a BJP MLA, and the elections witnessed a face-off between the two. During the campaigning, though Rivaba sent her best wishes to her sister-in-law, her support for her party did not go down as she had expressed belief that the BJP would win.
Naynaba's Statement after Defeat
While speaking to reporters, she accepted the public's decision, and she said that's what matters. However, she added that Congress still needs to work harder at the ground level and strengthen its organisation.
She further added, "I don’t blame Congress, sometimes challenges arise despite hard work, adding that "the party still needs to reach out to people and communicate its ideals effectively, which can then convert into votes," as quoted by Nirbhaynews. Though she added that there could be many reasons for the loss, we should not sit and dwell on it and rather, focus should be on the gaps that still remain.
Meanwhile, coming back to the counting of votes, as per initial trends, the ruling BJP has taken a lead in the local body elections in Gujarat, winning 2,531 seats so far out of more than 9,200 as per the initial rounds of counting that began today at 9 am.
The polls, considered one of the largest electoral exercises in the state ahead of the assembly elections due next year, covered nearly 9,200 seats with more than 4.18 crore eligible voters. According to SEC data, voter turnout stood at 55.1 per cent for municipal corporations, 65.53 per cent for municipalities, 66.64 per cent for district panchayats and 67.26 per cent for taluka panchayats.
