About a month after the collapse of a heritage suspension bridge at Morbi in Gujarat claimed 135 lives, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has returned to power in the constituency. BJP candidate Kantilal Shivlal Amrutiya defeated Congress’s Jayantilal Jerajbhai Patel by 62,079 votes. Kantilal is a five-time legislator and last won the Morbi constituency in 2017. The Morbi constituency is dominated by the Patidar community. It has received widespread attention since the tragic bridge accident on October 30 killed 135 people.
While the sitting MLA from BJP in Morbi is Brijesh Merja, a minister in the Bhupendra Patel government till now and a former Congress leader, the BJP chose Kantilal over him. Kantilal, a former Morbi MLA, was photographed participating in rescue works after the bridge tragedy. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) fielded Pankaj Ransariya, a youth candidate who had criticised the BJP government over the bridge tragedy.
The 100-year-old heritage bridge over the Machchu river in Morbi, collapsed soon after being opened to the public after renovation. The suspension bridge had been reopened for the public just four days before the accident, after a private firm carried out repair works for seven months. However, the bridge had not yet received the municipality's "fitness certificate". The bridge had been given to Oreva Group for operation and maintenance for 15 years. It was closed to the public for renovation in March this year, and was reopened on the Gujarati New Year day celebrated on October 26.
Soon after the incident, the prosecution told a Gujarat court that the contractors who carried out the repair work on the bridge were not qualified to carry out such jobs. The Gujarat High Court has criticised the Morbi municipal authorities for awarding the bridge’s repair work to the Oreva Group without a tender. It also questioned the government on how Oreva Group’s Ajanta Manufacturing Limited was allowed to maintain the bridge between 2017 and 2022, even after the relevant agreement had ended.