Irfan Pathan may be revelling in his maiden Test century in Bangalore but back home in Vadodara, he and his brother Yusuf Pathan have been unwittingly drawn into a smear campaign.

BJP MLA Upendrasinh Gohil, who had awarded the brothers a personal prize of Rs 1,11,111 for their record in the 20-20 ICC World Cup, is at the receiving end of a slanderous campaign. Anonymous pamphlets distributed in Vadodara call him Upendra Khan, “a BJP MLA who went on to gift Muslim boys and is now seeking Hindu votes”.

Gohil, the sitting BJP MLA from Savli constituency in Vadodara, is now contesting from Vadodara rural constituency. His presence here hasn’t gone down too well with a section of the BJP in Vadodara rural, since sitting BJP MLA Dilubha Chudasama was denied the ticket. Chudasama and his supporters were angry but BJP seniors prevailed on him and got him to withdraw as a rebel candidate.

But the mudslinging has begun. Two-page anonymous pamphlets-calling him Luccha Upendra Khan and alleging that he seeks Hindu votes and later sits with the Muslims—have been doing the rounds. “Why did Upendra give Rs 1,11, 111 to a Muslim? Did he not see any needy child among Patels, Kshatriyas or Brahmins...He will divide the Patels and Kshatriyas and then rule over us for five years,” say the pamphlets.

Gohil, who has worked in the co-operative sector and was Baroda Dairy chairman, has flirted with both the Congress and the BJP. He is a two-time MLA, once as an Independent, and in 2002, as a BJP MLA. He was the first one to announce a personal reward for the Pathan brothers for their match-winning performance in the cricket series. Gohil had personally gone to the Pathan residence to hand over the cheque to their father.

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