Will quota champs be Congress’ gain or pain in Gujarat?
RAJKOT: THE PATIDARS’ ANGST AGAINST THE BJP GOVERNMENT HAS BECOME MORE PRONOUNCED. BUT IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN IF THE CONGRESS IS ABLE TO TAP INTO THAT ANGER
VLDesaiisanangryman and when Mukeshbhai Yadav wondered about the reason behind the demand of socially andeconomicallyinfluentialPatidars for reservation in Gujarat, he had a ready answer.
“Why don’t we? We are no longerlandlordsandthereareno jobsforus,”Desai,aKadvaPatel, said and lauded Patidar quota agitationleader,HardikPatel,for making it a national issue.
Standing nearby at Teen Bati Chowk in Jetpur, about 70km from Rajkot, Keshubhai Veljibhai Sakhrelia, a Leuva Patel, blamed the BJP government for their condition.“Whereis‘vikas’ (development) for us? There are onlypromisesbutnoaction,”the 50-year-old said.
ThePatidars’angstagainstthe BJP government has become morepronounced.Butitremains tobeseeniftheCongressisableto tap into that anger. At the same time, the Congress is caught between a rock and a hard place as it draws up a strategy to deal with Hardik, Other Backward Class (OBC) leader Alpesh Thakor, and Dalit activist Jignesh Mevani.
Hardik has been demanding reservation for Patidars and Thakor will not allow any tampering with the OBC quota.
While OBCs constitute 40% of Gujarat’s 60 million population, Patidars comprise 12%. The OBCs in the state are given 27% quota in jobs and education. The Scheduled Castes (SCs) have 7% andScheduledTribes(STs)15%, making a total of 49%, just under the50%reservationcapsetbythe Supreme Court.
EversinceHardikcameincontact with the Congress, he has vacillated from one extreme to another.Last week, hecalled the BJP “maha chor (super thief)” and Congress “chor (thief)” but insisted that he, along with the grand old party, will work to defeat the ruling side.
But a few days later, he issued an ultimatum to the Congress to clear its stand by November 3 on the Patidar reservation issue.
For its part, the Congress is tryingtodoabalancingact.Ithas offered 20% reservation in jobs and education to Economically Backward Classes (EBCs), includinguppercastecommunities, in addition to the existing 49% reservation to SCs, STs and OBCs, if voted to power.
Thiswillalso haveareflection in the party’s manifesto being prepared by a team headed by senior leader Madhusudan Mistry.Will the Congresskeeptolerating Hardik’s tantrums?
“Hislanguageandattitudeare that of a 24-year-old youth. We cannot be like BJP, which uses bulletsandbatonsagainstitspeople.Wewillfindawaytodealwith him,” former Gujarat Congress chief, Arjun Modhwadia, said.
Politicalexpertssaythatthere will be legal hurdles in implementing the promise to give quotatoEBCs.“Constitutionally, it is mostdifficulttogiveaspecific quota.Hardikisaproblemforthe Congressandhisdemandisdifficult to meet. ButIstill think they might try and negotiate with him,” said political analyst Achyut Yagnik.
Out of power in Gujarat since 1995 andfancyingits chancesfor the firsttimein22years, theCongressdoesnotwanttoantagonise the OBCs.
HowwilltheCongressnegotiate the Patidars’ demand? Political expert Vidyut Joshi said reservation cannot be given on the basisofeconomicbackwardness and for now the Congress is focussed only on elections.