“You are at the epicentre of the epicentre,” says Mukesh Patel, member of the Congress taluka committee of Mehsana, describing the Becharaji constituency, where some of the most violent incidents of the Patidar agitation for reservation took place.
The Patidar-dominated constituency is the site of a set-piece battle in this election: the BJP has again fielded Rajni Patel, MLA and then Gujarat Home Minister whose house was torched by protesters at the height of the agitation, and the Congress has given ticket to Bharat Thakore, owing allegiance to the Kshatriya Sena of Alpesh Thakor.
At Mr. Patel’s election office off the Modera bypass, things are calm, methodical. A group of supporters await the candidate who has been held up at the Mehsana Collectorate for scrutiny of nomination papers.
“The Congress campaign will collapse because it is so mutually contradictory. The Anaamat Andolan [Patidar agitation for reservation] was strong here, but by fielding Mr. Thakor, from Alpesh’s group, the Congress has scored a self goal. The Thakors are against including Patidars in the OBC category. There is no legal way of doing so. Had a route been there, wouldn’t Ben [former Chief Minister Anandiben Patel] do it,” says Sanjay Patel, a close aide of Mr. Patel.
Mr. Patel too speaks on similar lines, though he is subdued while recalling the torching of his property and the shooting of 14 protesters that still festers in the minds of the community.
“It is natural that people are aggrieved,” he says, but adds that he hopes better sense on the possibilities of getting OBC status has now prevailed. “The coalition that the Congress is attempting is a non-starter. Will the Patidar community vote for Alpesh’s man,” he asks.
The constituency has roughly 2,31,000 voters, with 59,000 Patidars, 50,000 Thakors and 13,000 Darbars as the major dominant groups.
At the Congress’s tehsil office where Mr. Bharat Thakor is visiting for a meeting to secure support, the mood is upbeat.
“Alpesh bhai has very clearly said that he will accept Patidars in the OBC category if it can be done legally,” says Mr. Bharat Thakor. This will be the cornerstone of his campaign. The point to be noted, however, is that the formula by which Patidars are to be included in the OBC category has not been revealed yet. Mr. Bharat Thakor, however, will like to dwell on the Patidar agitation rather than legalese. “Rajni bhai ’s repetition as candidate is proof that the BJP has learnt nothing,” he says.
A closing note to what promises to be a defining electoral battle was added by BJP leader Rameshbhai Pandya: “Even in 1984, when the BJP had only two MPs, Mehsana was one of the two seats that the party won.” With Becharji, Mehsana stick to tradition or break with it?
