Gujarat Elections: Gujarat Riot Convict's Daughter Wins Naroda Seat

Kukarni won by a margin of 83,513 votes from Gujarat's Naroda constituency.

Payal Kukrani (BJP) contests for the Naroda seat in Gujarat Elections.

(Photo: The Quint)

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s Payal Kukarani, one of the party's youngest candidates this election and the daughter of Manoj Kukrani-- one of the 16 convicts in the Naroda Patiya riots case in which 97 Muslims were killed-- emerged winner from Gujarat's Naroda constituency in the recently culminated Assembly Elections in the state.

The results rolled out on Thursday, 8 December, where Kukarni won by a margin of 83,513 votes.

In the 2017 elections, BJP had won the constituency through Thawani Balram Khubchand against the Congress candidate Tiwari Omprakash Darogaprasad.

A controversial choice? Eyebrows were raised when Dr. Payalben Kukrani — an anesthetist by profession, with no previous political background —was fielded as a candidate by the BJP to fight for the Naroda constituency seat.

During the 2002 Gujarat riots, 92 Muslims were killed in Naroda, the incident dubbed as the Naroda Patiya Massacre. Kukrani's father, Manoj Kukrani was one of the 32 convicted individuals from the massacre.

Manoj Kukrani is currently out on bail and was seen aiding his daughter's election campaign.

How did the opposition react to her candidature? Reacting to her candidature, the opposition candidate Omprakash Tiwari (AAP) told NDTV that she was fielded as a candidate by the BJP to reward the 2002 riot convicts for their sacrifice.