Gujarat elections 2012: Haren Pandya's widow seeks to beat odds in 'revenge' battle

"I want justice for my husband who laid down his life for BJP, but none of its leaders lent me any support in the 10 years I fought the battle in courts," says Pandya.

"Haren was loved by his constituents. Voting for me would be like voting for him. That would be the biggest homage

people of Elliis Bridge can pay him," says Pandya, who like Shweta Bhatt, wife of suspended IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt, has

brought into the political arena their husbands' fight against Modi.

Sanjeev Bhatt has taken on Modi accusing him of complicity in the post-Godhra communal riots by allegedly ordering the police to allow Hindus to "vent their anger" against Muslims to teach them a lesson.

Both Shweta and Jagruti are Brahmins, who have sizeable presence in Maninagar and Ellis Bridge constituencies.

In Ellis Bridge, Brahmins, Patels, a landed and politically empowered community and Banias constitute nearly 60 per cent of the electorate.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad's faction loyal to its international general secretary Pravin Togadia, is said to be backing Pandya in her electoral foray. Togadia, who like Keshubhai, is a Leuva Patel, according to VHP insiders, has turned against Modi for marginalising the hardline Hindu outfit, which was in the forefront of the Ayodhya movement, in Gujarat.

However, few believe that Brahmin, Bania and Patel communities, who have traditionally voted for BJP, would turn against the saffron party.

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