Vadodara: A slipper was hurled allegedly at deputy chief minister Nitin Patel when he was addressing media persons at Kurali village in Karjan taluka of Vadodara district. Patel was in the village to address a BJP public meeting for the ensuing byelections for the Karjan assembly seat.
The incident took place late in the evening after the rally had ended. Patel stopped after he was approached by media persons for comment. At this time a slipper was lobbed towards Patel and fell on the microphones of television news channels.
According to sources in the BJP, the slipper was hurled by someone from behind and could not be spotted. A functionary said that the person could not be located. He added that the slipper was not thrown with force, but was tossed in the direction of the media persons and Patel.
BJP Vadodara district unit president Dilubha Chudasama said that he was present at the rally, but was away from the place where the incident took place. “The slipper did not fall on the deputy chief minister,” he said. He added that the person responsible for the act could not be located.
The Karjan byelections have emerged as a keen contest. Akshay Patel of the BJP resigned as an MLA after being elected from the Congress in 2017. He joined the BJP and is now contesting on a BJP ticket. The Congress has pitted Kiritsinh Jadeja against Patel.