Hindustan Times (Patiala)

BJP looks to make gains in Saurashtra to better its tally

- Smriti Kak Ramachandr­an letters@hindustant­imes.com

RAJKOT/ MORBI/SURENDRANA­GAR: The Bharatiya Janata Party may have won the 2017 assembly elections in Gujarat but the dip in seats, from 115 in 2012 to 99 was largely attributed to its poor showing in Saurashtra, the seat of the Patidar agitation that sought reservatio­n for the politicall­y and numericall­y strong Patel community in the state.

The agitation is over and the poster boys of the Opposition’s showing in 2017 — Jignesh Mevani, Hardik Patel and Alpesh Thakor — who made the headlines with their fiery speeches are now part of different political outfits.

The vast Saurashtra belt that spans the entire swathe of land between Devbhoomi Dwarka on the west coast and Surendrana­gar, covering 48 assembly seats in 11 districts, has seen hectic political activity, announceme­nt of a slew of projects, and the emergence of new faces as the BJP focuses its efforts on tightening its grip in the region.

In 2017, the Congress gained in Saurashtra as the BJP faced headwinds owing to the Patidar agitation, anger among the farming communitie­s over lack of support from the state government, and traders upset at the then-new tax regime, the Goods and Services Tax.

“The Congress won 30 of the 48 seats. It was a setback to the BJP but when the results were declared we knew then that this was a momentary crisis, and the party would not lose out on its core support...” said a BJP functionar­y based in Rajkot.

He cited the gains the party made in the bypolls in 2020 which were necessitat­ed when eight Congress lawmakers switched sides to the BJP. “It was evident then that people had made up their mind to not go with the Congress anymore as they had been misled by the Patidar agitation,” the functionar­y added. The BJP won all 8 of those seats.

The party’s preparatio­ns in Saurashtra began at least six months ahead of polls and involved a multi-pronged strategy, which included focusing on page committees, identifyin­g beneficiar­ies, and, more recently, dropping sitting legislator­s, said party leaders.

And this time, there is no farmer distress, the Patidar revolution has been quelled, and GST is no longer an issue.

New faces, new promises

In Rajkot, part of Saurashtra, the party is in power in six of the eight assembly constituen­cies, but chose to drop four of the six sitting MLAs to buck anti incumbency. Considered a BJP stronghold, the party has increased its vote share in the Rajkot Lok Sabha polls over the years. In 2009, its candidate lost to the Congress party’s nominee but since then, the party has emerged dominant. In 2014, its candidate won with 58.80% of the vote. In 2019, its candidate won again, this time with a 63.47% share. Former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani was a legislator from the Rajkot West assembly constituen­cy in the previous election and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was elected from the seat in 2002.

Rupani, who was removed from the

CM’s position in

2021 is not in the fray; he’s been replaced by Darshila Shah who comes from a family with ties to the RSS. In the bustling city centre, Dharamsinh, a resident, complains of lack of planning.

“Traffic jams are a regular feature, since there is not even a traffic cop to monitor the situation, there are often skirmishes when vehicles collide... the city is prosperous but the infrastruc­ture is way behind...” he says. Does he think the BJP will win? “There is no option for now...we will see how the others shape up,” he says. Dharamsinh refers to the AAP as the “naya party” or new party and does not dismiss the possibilit­y of young people being drawn towards them.

“My son is in college, and he says we must give them a chance.”

New faces have also been given tickets in some of the assembly constituen­cies in Morbi and Surendrana­gar, also part of Saurashtra. Three of them are new. “Only Amrutiya Kantilal, a five-time MLA has been given a ticket because of the rescue work he carried out in Morbi after the bridge collapse,” said a second functionar­y.

Community outreach

The party also made a concerted effort to woo the Patidar and the Koli communitie­s. In Limbdi where the Congress won the 2017 polls with support from the Koli community, counted as OBCs, the party ensured the implementa­tion of welfare schemes for the community.

“About four to five months ago we formed teams of five members each from all the major communitie­s including the OBCs, SC, ST, Savarna (upper caste) and ensured they were getting the benefits of specific schemes...,” said the second functionar­y.

Political analyst Shirish Kashikar said that with the Patidar agitation long forgotten and the politicall­y expedient move of replacing sitting MLAs with new candidates, the BJP stands to fare better than the previous election. “Above all, the Modi factor works well here,” he said.

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 ?? PTI ?? Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a roadshow in Rajkot.
PTI Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a roadshow in Rajkot.

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