For first time in 10 years, Congress opens account in Gujarat

For the first time in a decade, the Congress party opened its account in Gujarat in the Lok Sabha election. Out of the total 26 seats in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, Geniben Thakor of the Congress clinched Banaskantha constituency from BJP's Rekhaben Chaudhari. Thakor won the seat by a margin of over 30,000 votes.

In the 2014 and 2019 general elections, the BJP had a clean sweep in the state.

According to reports, Thakor is a two-time MLA and the only woman representative of the Congress in the Gujarat Assembly.

She crowdfunded her deposit by encouraging her constituents to help her financially with funds as low as Rs 11.

She promoted her QR code to receive donations and reached out to voters beyond the traditional party mechanisms.