BJP eyes tribal votes, Cong looks to check defections

AFTER A DOZEN DEFECTIONS FROM THE CONGRESS, THE BJP AT PRESENT HAS 111 MLAS AGAINST THE FORMER’S 67

The ruling BJP in Gujarat is aiming to break the Congress’s hold in the state’s tribal belt ahead of the crucial assembly elections later this year, even as the latter is struggling to keep its flock intact.

“In 2017 assembly elections, CR Paatil had kept a target of bagging all the 12 urban and semi-urban seats in Surat. This time around, a similar strategy is being worked out for tribal areas,” said a senior BJP leader, who wished not to be named.

Paatil, an MP from Navsari, was party’s in-charge for Surat district during the 2017 elections. He is now the party’s state unit president. Surat, which has a sizeable Patidar population, was at the centre of an agitation by the community demanding reservation under OBC category. Despite the challenges, BJP won all 12 seats. In Surat district, the party won 14 out of total 15 seats.

Of late, BJP has been facing challenges from the tribal belt, a stronghold of the Congress.

In March, the BJP-led state government urged the central leadership to halt the Par-TapiNarmada river-linking project to avoid the displacement of tribals from their ancestral land. Thousands of tribals had been protesting for over a month after the project was announced this year. The project has been put on a back-burner since.

For Congress, the biggest challenge is to stop its leaders from migrating to the BJP. On May 3, tribal leader and threetime Congress legislator from Khedbrahma constituency, Ashwin Kotwal, switched sides, joining at least 13 other sitting and former legislators who have quit the grand old party to join the BJP in Gujarat since the 2017 assembly elections.

Kotwal, who was the Congress chief whip in the assembly, had been sulking ever since the party chose another tribal leader Sukhram Rathwa as the leader of opposition on December 3, 2021. While quitting the party, Kotwal had said he was “unhappy” with the way the “Congress was functioning, especially in the tribal areas”.The Congress, however, saw the move as a betrayal and called it “opportunistic politics”.

“It is nothing but opportunistic politics and betrayal. People like Kotwal claim they want to work for the tribals, but they make it look like a big joke by joining a party that works against the interest of tribals,” said Manish Doshi, spokesperson for the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC).

A total of 27 assembly seats are reserved for tribals in Gujarat and in the last round of elections in 2017, the Congress had won 15 while the BJP got nine seats. The Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP), which contested in alliance with the Congress, won two seats while an independent candidate bagged the Modhwa Hadaf constituency in Panchmahals district. A series of defections later, the tally of both the Congress and the BJP in these reserved constituencies now stood at 12 each.

Kotwal’s decision to join the BJP came two days after AAP convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, during his visit to tribal areas of Bharuch district, said his party will contest state polls in alliance with MLA Chhotu Vasava-led BTP.

“Unlike the SC seats where there is fairly mixed population of voters, in the seats reserved for ST candidates, the voters are by and large tribals. A powerful tribal local candidate is required to win elections in these places,” a senior BJP leader said.

Prior to Kotwal, former Congress MLA Manilal Vaghela, who quit the party in 2021, joined the BJP last month. He is seen as a likely candidate to challenge sitting independent MLA Jignesh Mevani on Vadgam seat, in the upcoming assembly elections scheduled for later this year.

A senior BJP leader said another seven-eight sitting and former Congress MLAs are likely to join the party before the assembly polls. Patidar leader and Congress working president Hardik Patel, who recently dropped Congress from his bio on social media accounts, has also sparked speculation about his future in the party.

“After Nitin Patel stepped down as minister, there has been a need for a strong Patidar leader in the party, especially in north Gujarat. Hardik Patel fits the bill perfectly. He is a crowd-puller and his campaigning skills can be used effectively,” said a second BJP party official in the know of the matter.

After an event in Jamnagar on Saturday, Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel offered a ride to Congress legislature Shailesh Parmar in his vehicle.

“Whoever wants to come with us is free to join,” Patel said, evoking laughter from Parmar and others in the crowd.

The 2017 assembly elections saw Congress put up its best performance in the state in last two decades that the BJP has ruled Gujarat.

Though it could not win the elections, it garnered 77 seats and stopped the BJP one short of the 100-mark in a 182-member strong legislative assembly.

After a dozen defections from the Congress, the BJP at present has 111 MLAs against the former’s 67. Three seats are vacant following demise of the sitting legislators.

“Congress is getting weaker. The leadership is not taking necessary action,” said Achyut Yagnik, an Ahmedabad-based political commentator. “The BJP has a strong network on the ground and is ably supported by the huge workforce of the RSS. In comparison, the Congress’ Seva Dal, which is supposed to be working at the grassroots level, does not seem very active.”

Those who are crossing over from Congress seem confident that BJP will remain in power for a longer period, he added.