Gujarat Polls: BJP Leaders Being Driven Out from Colonies While Campaigning

The famous saying that nothing is permanent in politics appears to be true for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat. It’s difficult to imagine that the BJP would find itself in an uncomfortable position in the state it has ruled for two decades. 

Forget about winning the elections in its bastion, the saffron party is finding it difficult to even campaign in many constituencies. BJP leaders and cadres are being driven out when they go to residential societies for door-to-door campaigns.

Some societies have even put banners at their main entrances cautioning BJP workers not to enter the premises as Section 144 (of CrPc) has been unofficially imposed for them. If the saffron party workers enter the society, their handbills are torn and slogans are shouted against them.

One such banner at the Avanti Society in Surat’s Varachha area, which is dominated by the Leuva Patels says, “All the beggars of the BJP, who come here for votes, are informed that they are not allowed to enter the Avanti Society as Section 144 is in place here for them. Since no corporator, the MLA or the MP of the BJP has ever come here to this society for the last five years; they are barred from entering the campus for seeking votes.”      

In videos accessed by NewsClick, BJP leaders and cadres can be seen being driven out by Patidar protestors chanting slogans such as “BJP, Go Back”, “Sardar Lade Thei Goron Se, Hum Ladenge Chhoron Se” (Sardar Patel fought against the British, we will fight against you), “Sardar Tumhara Sher Hai, Hum Tumhare Baap Hain” (If Sardar Patel is your lion, we are your dad) and “Jai Sardar, Jai Patidar” (Long live Sardar Patel, long live Patidars)

The Varachha area has three Assembly seats - Varachha, Karanj and Kamrej – all BJP strongholds.

Following the massive police crackdown on the Patidar quota agitation in 2015 which resulted in the deaths of their 10 youth, the community, which accounts for 13% electorates in the state, has “decided to teach the BJP a lesson in the upcoming elections”.

“We were traditional voters of the BJP. We used to fund the party and provide whatever support it needed at any occasion. Instead of listening to our demands for reservation in government jobs and educational institution, the party used force to scuttle our protest. The police entered our homes and misbehaved with women. We cannot tolerate it. This election, we will teach them a lesson,” Bhavesh Patel, a resident of Mehsana district, told NewsClick.

Mehsana, the district from which the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) leader Hardik Patel had launched a state-wide quota agitation, has seven assembly constituencies – Mehsana (city), Visnagar, Uanjja, Vijapur, Kadi, Bechraji and Kheralu.

All these constituencies have not elected a Congress MLA for decades and the seats are dominated by Patidars. But things have changed after political tides took new turns following the protest for reservation. In fact, Patidar dominated seats across Gujarat have shaken BJP’s strong hold and resurrected the Congress. Estimates put the Patel-dominated constituencies at above 40.

The state unit of the BJP has reportedly submitted a report to the high command, anticipating defeat at 25 Patel-dominated seats. This report was based on inputs by cadres involved in the Gujarat Gaurav Lok Sampark Yatra. The party fears losing ground in some of its strongholds in Rajkot, Amreli, Mahesana and Surat districts.

After the police launched the crackdown and Hardik, who is leading the agitation, was arrested and booked under sedition laws, the 22-year-old shot to fame in 2015. As Hardik’s popularity grew, he began receiving unprecedented support of the Patels in both North and South Gujarat. Patels, mostly diamond and textile traders, are an influential community of the state and used to be a traditional vote bank of the saffron party. Now, the two sub-castes of the Patidar community – Kadva and Leuva Patels – have also come together under one banner in support of Hardik Patel.