Hardik Patel on the fast track
Less than a year before the Lok Sabha polls the Patidar quota stir has returned to haunt the Gujarat government, with the young leader, Hardik Patel, going on an indefinite fast.
However, the BJP is treading cautiously this time. With memories of violence ensuing from Patel’s massive rally in August 2015 fresh, state government sources say the leadership is trying its best to avoid a repeat of that.
Since August 25
Patel has been on an indefinite fast, demanding reservations for the Patidar community in higher education and government jobs and a farm loan waiver.
Fasting at his Ahmedabad residence,
Patel has been gathering support from leaders of parties other than the BJP.
“Till farmers are given a loan waiver, and till reservation is provided, our fight will continue,” Patel tweeted. In less than a week, Patel has lost 5 kg even as he continues to ignore doctors’ advice to get hospitalised.
Despite the agitation, the state government has been quiet. As such, there seems to be no strategy to counter Patel. “We will come up with a strategy if required. We have nothing to say right now,” Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel told Business Standard.
A senior party leader said: “After every agitation by him (Hardik Patel), there has been violence. Even while seeking permission to hold the protest fast from August 25, there were incidents of arson in Surat on August 17 by his supporters. Hence, the government is treading cautiously.”
As a result, the government is considering steps like forcible hospitalisation in case Patel’s health deteriorates.
According to the senior party leader, what the government and the BJP are worried about is the support the young Patidar leader is getting from different corners. MLAs of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress, apart from leaders of the Nationalist Congress Party and JD(U) and former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, have met Patel and extended support to him.
Political observers, however, say the government may have been caught off guard this time, especially given the timing of the fast.
“This is the time for the government and the party to prepare for next year’s elections. In the midst of this, the protest fast has caught the government off guard. Already, the Patidar votes have been divided after last year’s assembly elections. The question is whether the fast further dents the support of the ruling party,” political analyst Achyut Yagnik said.
On the other hand, the Congress has also joined in supporting Patel in the hope of making the most of the growing dissent within the community against the BJP. And why not? The assembly elections, held last year, had seen the Congress almost form the government, merely on the back of support from the farming community, especially in the Saurashtra region, which is a Patidar stronghold. The agrarian Patidar vote helped the Congress gain strong ground in the KutchSaurashtra region (winning 30 seats of the 54 in the region).
“It is a lesson or a key takeaway from this election for the BJP— it has to modify its rapid industrialisation agenda and focus more on a balanced growth model in Gujarat,” Ahmedabadbased senior political commentator Vidyut Joshi had observed.
However, Patel is facing sedition charges. On September 14, a sessions court in the city is likely to frame charges against the Patidar leader. The Ahmedabad Police’s Crime Branch registered a case against him and others for allegedly instigating violence “with the intention of dislodging the government” during the 2015 quota agitation.
It needs to be seen whether the case could abruptly halt Patel’s plans to disrupt the government’s preparations for next year’s general elections.