Vadodara, Gujarat, Dec 16: Hours before polling began for the second phase of elections in Gujarat, police arrested BJP's Jetpur candidate Jayanti Rathwa along with 10 of his supporters after a country-made revolver and liquor bottles were recovered from their possession.

Mr Rathwa and his supporters were intercepted by the police at Vindol village under Karali police station in the wee hours today when they were reportedly moving around his constituency in three vehicles. According to Vadodara Deputy Superintendent of Police V J Katara, police seized a country-made revolver, 9 live cartridges, several bottles of liquor and sharp-edged weapons after a thorough search of the three vehicles. The vehicles has also been seized.

Mr Katara said the illegal arms were recovered from the vehicle in which the BJP candidate was travelling and quite a few of his party workers were found drunk, when, acting on a tip-off, police stopped them at Vindol.

Mr Rathwa, a political novice, is pitted against Congress stalwart and three-time MLA Mohansingh Rathwa and BSP's Bhanubhai Rathwa in a three-cornered contest in tribal-dominated Jetpur constituency of eastern Vadodara.

Recently, police arrested a dozen of supporters from both the parties following clashes between them during campaigning. BJP's district general secretary Valji Bariya was among 10 people who were injured in clashes.

The authorities also transferred three policemen, including the Karali police station in-charge, for their alleged failure to control violence and take immediate action against the culprits.

UNI