In a historic first for the Godhra municipality, two married couples have been elected as councillors, marking a significant shift in local politics. For years, these councillors focused on their wards while their wives quietly managed affairs at home. Now, the roles have expanded as the wives have entered public life, and the couples will shoulder civic responsibilities together.
During the civic polls, for which counting took place on Tuesday, three couples contested, but only two managed to cross the finish line. Interestingly, both husbands had lost the 2021 elections, and this time the presence of their wives appears to have turned their fortunes around.
Ashraf Chanda and Yakub Bakar, also known as Tapeli, have been contesting elections from the adjoining Ward 8 and Ward 9 of the Godhra municipality as independents. Both had won in 2015 but lost in 2021 due to the presence of AIMIM candidates. After their defeat, despite being among the better-performing councillors, the two would often spend hours discussing their next political move while sitting under the shade of a neem tree.
It was Bakar who first decided to contest along with his wife Sharifa and announced the move. Chanda soon followed suit and entered the fray with his wife Raziya. "I was confident that both my wife Sharifa and I would win. When I shared the idea of us contesting together with people in my ward, they welcomed it and said they would vote for both of us," Bakar said.
Chanda highlighted the benefits of their joint victory, stating that it could benefit the ward through combined efforts and resources. "Residents, especially women, can approach my wife if I am not available. As a councillor, she can also confidently call up officials to get their work done," he said.
The third couple in the fray was four-time councillor Bharti Patel, who was denied a BJP ticket and contested Ward 5 as an independent along with her husband Satish Patel. However, they lost the election. In that ward, three BJP candidates and one independent emerged victorious.
This development marks a new chapter in local governance, where family partnerships are becoming a strategic asset in civic engagement.
