Ahmedabad: A keen triangular contest is shaping up in the Gomtipur ward of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), with three seasoned politicians — each a former corporator — vying for a single general male seat.The contest pits Congress candidate Zulfi Khan Pathan against AIMIM’s Iqbal Sheikh and Aam Aadmi Party’s Amjad Khan Pathan, setting the stage for a closely watched electoral battle in the area.Iqbal Sheikh, a dominant political figure in Gomtipur, has represented the ward for five consecutive terms between 2000 and 2026. He first won as an independent candidate in 2000 and later secured repeated victories on a Congress ticket. However, ahead of the 2026 elections, Sheikh parted ways with the Congress and is now contesting under the AIMIM banner.Interestingly, Sheikh’s main rival, Zulfi Khan Pathan, was his party colleague in the 2021 AMC elections, when both were elected as Congress corporators from the same ward. In a dramatic turn of events, the two now find themselves on opposing sides in the current election.Zulfi Khan Pathan, who entered the civic body for the first time in 2021, also carries a political legacy. His father, Taufik Khan Pathan, served as a corporator for seven consecutive terms from the neighbouring Rakhial ward. Following delimitation and the merger of Saraspur and Rakhial wards, Zulfi Khan shifted his political base to Gomtipur.Adding a third dimension to the contest is Amjad Khan Pathan of the Aam Aadmi Party, who previously served as a corporator from Rajpur ward between 2010 and 2015. His entry has turned the race into a three-cornered fight, potentially splitting votes across traditional support bases.
