Ravindra Jadeja bats for wife and BJP candidate Rivaba in Gujarat polls

Indian cricketer Ravindra Jadeja, sporting a saffron top, was seen with his wife Rivaba Jadeja at a BJP organised event in Gujarat's Jamnagar before she files her nomination as a party candidate for Assembly election. Rivaba Jadeja will contest the Jamnagar (North) seat.

"Cricketer Ravindra Jadeja and his wife and BJP leader Rivaba Jadeja attend an event in Jamnagar organised ahead of the filing of nomination for the upcoming Gujarat Election. Rivaba Jadeja will contest from Jamnagar North and file her nomination today," a tweet with images shared by news agency ANI said.

"It is her first time as an MLA candidate and she'll learn a lot. I hope she will progress… She is of (a) helping nature and has always wanted to help people and hence joined politics. She wants to follow the path of PM Modi to work for the people," Jadeja told media at the BJP event.

Rivaba Jadeja and former Congress leader Hardik Patel were named in first list of 160 candidates put out by the Bharatiya Janata Party last week; Hardik Patel, who led the Patidar community protest for quotas and defected in June - will stand from Viramgam.

Rivaba Jadeja joined the BJP in 2019 and, before of the Lok Sabha polls, had asked for a party ticket from the Jamnagar.

Earlier, Ravindra Jadeja had posted a video on Twitter calling for support for his wife.

Speaking in Gujarati, the cricketer said: "My dear Jamnagar residents and all cricket fans. As you all know that here Gujarat assembly elections are progressing fast like T20 cricket. BJP has made my wife Rivabaa candidate."

"She is going to file nomination papers on November 14. It is your responsibility to create an atmosphere of victory. So let's meet tomorrow morning."

The state of Gujarat will vote for a new government on December 1 and 5 with results due on December 8.

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