After 20 yrs,Gandhis birthplace votes without fear of dons

Its been a long wait but the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi which had since the 1980s become a cradle for dons is finally looking at an election out of the shadow of the underworld.

Most of these godfathers,and the only godmother,have been wiped out since the last general election in 2004,or are in jail. They include Santokben Jadeja,whose transformation from a simple housewife to Indias only mafia queen was the

inspiration for the Shabana Azmi-starrer Godmother,her brother-in-law Bhura Munja,rival Bhima Odedara and other smaller,less-colourful dons.

There are not many goons around this time. That is why no election fatwas have been heard yet,through only four days are left for poll day, says Karshan Mehta,a resident of Kadiya plot in Porbandar.

The Porbandar Lok Sabha seat comprises Porbandar,Kutiyana,Manavadar,Keshod,Gondal,Jetput and Dhoraji. The first two used to be the hub of mafia dons,seeing at least 21 deaths between 1985 and 1987 in gang wars. As they rose in prominence,they acquired political dimensions by supporting different parties. The BJP has been consistently winning the Porbandar seat since 1986.

The bloody battle,which basically centred around control of the coastal regions mining and transport business (with a turnover of over Rs 400 crore),peaked around 1986,when Sharman Jadeja,husband of Santokben,was killed by rival gangster Kesav Kala. Santokben stepped into Jadejas shoes,and four years later,got elected as an MLA from her hometown Kutiyana,without addressing a single rally.

With the family fighting for spoils,Santokbens estranged bother-in-law Bhura Munja first floated own party and then plunged into politics as an Independent from Kutiyana against her in 1995. The BJP could wrest Kutiyana from the control of Santokben only in 1998,but that was also through Karshan Odedara,brother of local gangster Bhima Odedara.

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It was after the Keshubhai Patel government cracked the whip in the late 1990s that the godmother had to wind up operations. By then her gang of over 100 alleged hardened criminals had 500 criminal cases registered against it,with Santokben herself an accused in nine cases,including murder. After 2006,three of her four sons Kandhal,Karan and Kana have also been out of the picture,having been arrested in connection with a murder in Porbandar.

While Kandhal,who fled from Rajkot police custody in 2007,has vanished,Karan is in Sabarmati Jail in connection with the murder of Kandhals wife Rekha. Kana too is a wanted man. Santokben is now mostly confined to the four walls of her Rajkot residence,and takes care of the family transport and estate business.

Bhima Odedara is in jail since 2007,in connection with the killing of Molu Modhvadia (a close kin of state Congress spokesperson Arjun Modhwadia) and a Rs 200-crore illegal mining case. Also facing allegations in the two cases,Babu Bokhiria,a former irrigation minister in the state BJP government,has been ordered to keep away from Porbandar.

Bhura Munja,an accused in a string of murder and attempt to murder cases,is now out of jail,but has shifted base to Gandhinagar.