A daily wage worker whose slum colony in Gujarat’s capital Gandhinagar was razed in 2019 to make way for a hotel, raised Rs 10,000 in Rs 1 coins from his supporters and deposited that amount with the Election Commission so that he can contest the next month’s Assembly polls.

The contestant Mahendra Patni is fighting the election from the Gandhinagar North seat as an independent candidate. He said the displaced residents of 521 huts in a slum near Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar that were demolished three years ago, asked him to contest the election as their representative.