Click to play videoAhmedabad: Former Gujarat minister Amit Shah has been arrested in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case but voters of the Sarkhej constituency in Ahmedabad still stand by him.
Shah may be in the dock for kidnapping and murder but that has not taken a toll on Shah's popularity among the people who voted him to power. In a show of solidarity the voters of the Sarkhej constituency in Ahmedabad also organised protest marches against Shah's arrest calling it a Congress conspiracy. Sarkhej has traditionally been a stronghold of the BJP.
"There will not be any change in his popularity. Amit Shah will continue to be equally popular here," says BJP supporter and Sarkhej resident Palak Patel.
"This is an attempt by the Congress to target him. It will not affect his popularity," says another resident Nisarg Sutaria.
"If you misuse CBI like this, it will be of no use," adds Kalpesh Patel.
Sarkhej is an urban constituency and has voted for Shah since 1998. Shah won an impressive 60 per cent of the votes in the 1998, 2002 and 2007 elections.
In the last Assembly poll, Shah polled 4.07 lakh votes as opposed to the 1.71 lakh votes of his Congress rival Shashikant Patel.
The minority dominated Juhapura locality also falls in Shah's constituency. Here though, he has always faced opposition and now the residents are speaking out against him.
"If he is guilty, he should be punished. Anybody should be punished. Because this crime is very dangerous," says Juhapura resident Yusuf Hakim.
In many ways, Shah is very much like his mentor Narendra Modi. Both have come under intense criticism and legal scrutiny but like Modi, Shah still continues to enjoy the same popularity among his voters.
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