View: Alpesh Thakore gained name, played politics only now
, ET Bureau|
Oct 25, 2017, 01.19 AM IST
GANDHINAGAR: Much to the chagrin of the ruling BJP, Alpesh Thakore joined Congress after a grand show of strength in Gandhinagar. None less than the Congress V-P Rahul Gandhi welcomed him into the party.
The presence of Rahul 2.0, as many analysts in Gujarat have started calling the Congress VP after his recent public outreach, left the defending champion BJP not too pleased with the event.
For many, Thakore's decision to join Congress came as a surprise. Whispers always credited the benevolence of a BJP heavyweight for the rise of the OBC leader as a counterweight to Hardik.
A source in the know of the affair told ET that the original strategy was to let Thakore grow and then field him as an independent candidate or induct in BJP in the right time. On his part, Thakore spread his work across North Gujarat and assiduously built an image of being a anti-liquor crusader as well as a strong youth leader with tangible work on ground to speak for him.
So far so good. Over time, according to the people who know Alpesh, not only did he gain political maturity but developed a mind of his own. While his jump into the political arena was a certainty, he went back to the people of his community to decide his course.
"Thakore community has traditionally been a voter base of Congress and the feedback that Alpesh got was clear. His people wanted him to join Congress and that is what he did," said a source in the Congress.
Thakore alleged he was offered money and position in BJP but honour in Congress and he chose the later. Congress is learnt to have agreed to let him have a say in the candidate selection in the Thakore dominated seats of north Gujarat and tickets for him and his father.
Just not with Alpesh, the Patidar issue, according to sources, too was allowed to brew over time as many in the BJP believed that the community being is core supporter can be handled.
However, with the demand for reservation catching the fancy of the community and its collective anger over police atrocity in 2015 bolstered Hardik's image and his consistent outreach only propelled his popularity particularly amongst the youth.
For now, however, these two youth leaders who belong to Viramgam are the biggest worry for the ruling party in Gujarat.
The presence of Rahul 2.0, as many analysts in Gujarat have started calling the Congress VP after his recent public outreach, left the defending champion BJP not too pleased with the event.
For many, Thakore's decision to join Congress came as a surprise. Whispers always credited the benevolence of a BJP heavyweight for the rise of the OBC leader as a counterweight to Hardik.
A source in the know of the affair told ET that the original strategy was to let Thakore grow and then field him as an independent candidate or induct in BJP in the right time. On his part, Thakore spread his work across North Gujarat and assiduously built an image of being a anti-liquor crusader as well as a strong youth leader with tangible work on ground to speak for him.
So far so good. Over time, according to the people who know Alpesh, not only did he gain political maturity but developed a mind of his own. While his jump into the political arena was a certainty, he went back to the people of his community to decide his course.
"Thakore community has traditionally been a voter base of Congress and the feedback that Alpesh got was clear. His people wanted him to join Congress and that is what he did," said a source in the Congress.
Thakore alleged he was offered money and position in BJP but honour in Congress and he chose the later. Congress is learnt to have agreed to let him have a say in the candidate selection in the Thakore dominated seats of north Gujarat and tickets for him and his father.
Just not with Alpesh, the Patidar issue, according to sources, too was allowed to brew over time as many in the BJP believed that the community being is core supporter can be handled.
However, with the demand for reservation catching the fancy of the community and its collective anger over police atrocity in 2015 bolstered Hardik's image and his consistent outreach only propelled his popularity particularly amongst the youth.
For now, however, these two youth leaders who belong to Viramgam are the biggest worry for the ruling party in Gujarat.
