Ahead of Assembly polls in Gujarat this year, various castes groups have begun mobilisation drives to push for their demands such as having better representation and a larger say in the State’s politics. In various parts of the State, different castes and communities are holding meetings and conventions to further their interests.
In Saurashtra, the Patidar community, which is a dominant caste with disproportionate hold over the region’s political economy, held a series of meetings ostensibly to discuss the issues of their community. However, the real purpose was to demonstrate their collective power.
The meetings were convened by former BJP Minister and legislator Jayesh Radadiya, whose late father was a former parliamentarian and powerful Patidar leader in the region. Those who attended the meeting included the community’s leading social worker Naresh Patel, whose putative political debut is being hotly speculated and discussed in the State’s political circles.
So far, Mr. Patel has maintained that if the community wants, he will join politics to serve the people of the State. “I will soon declare my decision to join active politics or not,” Mr. Patel told mediapersons in Rajkot after the meeting.
Following the meeting, over 100 activists of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti held a meeting with Mr. Patel and requested him to join the Congress to take on the BJP.
Responding to a Patidar leader’s demand, the State government on Monday decided to withdraw 10 cases that were filed against members of the community during the quota agitation in 2015. Patidar quota crusader Hardik Patel and others have demanded a withdrawal of all cases, around 250 across the State.
Not to be left behind, the numerically significant Koli and Thakor communities also held several meetings in various districts of Saurashtra. The local leaders have said that their votes determine the outcome in as many as 28 Assembly seats in Saurashtra and South Gujarat.
The meeting of Koli leaders was mostly attended by the trustees of various trusts and institutes while political leaders and elected representatives from the community were not invited. “We will invite the political leaders from our community for the meetings that we plan in the next 2 to 3 months,” said one of the organisers on condition of anonymity.
Main demands
He said the main demands include the Rs. 1,000-crore budget provision for the Koli Development Corporation and adequate financial support for their businesses and the community’s welfare trusts.
According to sources, the Koli community’s meetings were orchestrated by former BJP parliamentarian Devji Fatepara and former Cabinet Minister Kuvarji Bavalia. Though both of them trace their political roots to the Congress, they later defected to the ruling BJP.
In Saurashtra, the Kolis are engaged in the agriculture, fishing and construction and building sectors. They are spread across the region, with predominant presence in Bhavnagar, Botad, Junagadh, Gir Somnath, Surendranagar and Rajkot districts.
In North Gujarat, former Minister and chairman of the Mehsana Dudhsagar dairy Vipul Chaudhary has been holding meetings in various villages in Mehsana district. Mr. Chaudhary was dethroned as the chairman of Dudhsagar dairy on the ground of corruption.
The Chaudhary community has a significant presence in Mehsana, Banaskantha, Sabarkantha and Gandhinagar districts. They are mostly engaged in farming and dairy farming and are the main milk suppliers in the region. The three main dairies of North Gujarat – Mehsana, Sabarkantha and Banaskantha – are controlled by the community.
“If we don’t remain united, there are people who will use us for their gain. We must remain united for our own benefits,” Mr. Chaudhary tells his caste members in every meeting.
The 2017 Assembly election was held in the backdrop of caste agitations, first by the Patidars seeking quotas in jobs and education and later by the OBCs demanding their proportionate share in government jobs and schemes.
Former legislator and BJP leader Alpesh Thakor, who also had defected from the Congress to the BJP, also spearheads the Gujarat Kshatriya Thakor Sena, which mobilises various sub-castes of the Thakor community under one banner. He has also launched a mobilisation exercise by holding taluka-level meetings in Banaskantha and other districts of the region.
