The Poll Battlefield

The assembly election in the Prime Minister’s home state has veteran politicians and young leaders jostling for political and electoral success.

1. NARENDRA MODI 67, BJP

Narendra Modi began his public life as a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pracharak in Gujarat. He began his political career as the organisation secretary— sent by the Sangh to the BJP —in Gujarat 30 years ago. He played a key role in the organisational expansion of the party, leading to its decisive win in the 1995 assembly election. After a few years in Delhi, Modi returned as Gujarat CM in 2001, and the next year, led the BJP to its biggest-ever victory in the aftermath of the 2002 riots. Over the next decade, he combined the image of a strong incorruptible leader, mixed with Hindutva and development, to deliver assembly election victories twice in a row. And on the basis of the Gujarat model of development, Modi swept India in 2014. The Prime Minister returns to his home state to show that Gujarat remains Modi's Gujarat.

2. AMIT SHAH 53, BJP

Amit Shah cut his political teeth managing and then fighting elections in Gujarat. He handled the campaign for LK Advani's election bid in the late 1980s; he fought his own elections from an Ahmedabad seat in the mid 90s and kept expanding his margin of victory; he wrested control of cooperatives—a key source of power in the state —from the Congress. And then he used his stint in Narendra Modi's government, to expand the party's organisational strength. Shah used all this experience when he was charged with winning Uttar Pradesh in 2014, a feat he achieved with such success that he was catapulted straight to the party presidency. Shah knows that the Gujarat battle will reflect personally on him. Vijay Rupani, the CM, is his choice. Shah knows he has to win with a comfortable margin to retain his control over the BJP.

3. BHARATSINH SOLANKI 63, Congress

His first stint as the Congress state chief between 2006 and 2008 wasn’t remarkable but Bharatsinh Solanki’s second spell has been far more successful. Within months of taking charge in March 2015, he led the party to wins in local body polls after two decades. He managed to woo disgruntled Patidars in the wake of the OBC quota stir that proved instrumental in winning the panchayat polls. The next challenge was the Rajya Sabha election when several MLAs deserted the Congress, putting at risk the prospects of veteran leader Ahmed Patel. But Solanki managed to keep the support of 43 legislators intact. He enjoyed the party’s full backing when former CM Shankersinh Vaghela demanded Solanki’s position in the run-up to the polls. Just before the crucial assembly elections, Solanki managed to bring OBC leader Alpesh Thakor into the fold and is optimistic about inducting Hardik Patel soon.

4. JIGNESH MEVANI 36, Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch

A former lawyer and journalist, Mevani became the voice of Dalits after the public flogging of four scheduled caste youth by self-styled cow vigilantes at Una in July 2016. In a matter of days, Mevani cobbled together a coalition of leaders, activists, journalists and ordinary people and led a 10-day-long march from Ahmedabad to Una. The march was widely covered and catapulted Mevani to the national stage. Since then, he has suffered some setbacks. The coalition has somewhat frayed and differences have grown between him and the affected family in Una — staunch supporters of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati. A former member of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Mevani is seen as the tallest Dalit leader in a state where the community has mostly remained marginalised.

5. HARDIK PATEL 24, Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti

As Patidar youth demanding reservation benefits in government jobs and college admissions hit the streets in 2015, Gujarat saw the meteoric rise of Hardik Patel. Within months, the 24-year-old leader managed what the Congress had failed to do in two decades – erode the BJP’s strong rural base. With the politically influential Patidar community by his side, the Hardik-led stir forced the BJP to change the chief minister within two years of the Prime Minister moving to Delhi. But two years, two sedition cases, nine months’ jail and six months’ exile later, this firebrand leader has been deserted by several Patidar religious organisations and many of his aides. But his rallies—which drive home a single point ‘support “chor” Congress to defeat “mahachor” BJP’—continue to attract large crowds, and the Congress is leaving no stone unturned to woo Patidars through him.

6. VIJAY RUPANI 61, BJP

A soft-spoken leader with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh roots, Vijay Rupani, worked his way through the party for more than two decades before becoming the chief minister 1.5 years ago. Experts believed his politically insignificant caste – Jain (Bania) – was an initial obstacle in acquiring an important political office but it may have proved vital when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah were looking for a leader from a non-prominent caste to replace Anandiben Patel. Her government had failed to contain the Patidar quota agitation, the OBC uprising to counter the Patidar stir and Dalit protests following the Una flogging incident. Also working in favour of Rupani was his proximity to Shah, especially after the BJP lost local body polls for the first time in years. Rupani is set for a fierce battle with Congress’s Saurashtra strongman Indranil Rajguru who has been nurturing the chief minister’s constituency Rajkot West for more than a year now.

7. ALPESH THAKOR 34, Congress

Over the past decade, Thakor has slowly climbed the political ladder with campaigns such as promoting alcohol abolition but it was a counter-protest to the Patidar quota agitation that pushed him into the limelight. An OBC leader from the dominant Thakor community, he quickly brought a section of the scheduled castes and tribes under the umbrella to form an OBC/SC/ST Ekta Manch. Thakor says his Kshatriya Thakor Sena can influence the results of 40-odd seats in north Gujarat and parts of Saurashtra and his induction into the Congress might help the opposition party. But his addition also means that Patels—whose demands he is opposed to—might move away from the Congress. This is not his first stint in mainstream politics though. He started his political career as a Congress candidate in Ahmedabad district panchayat election in 2010, only to leave politics after a defeat.