Older Patels stick to BJP, Modi, say they will convince youngsters
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Updated: Dec 02, 2017, 11.52 AM IST
Rambhai Ganga Ramdas Patel, a 76-year-old retired school principal and former sarpanch of Lakhvad village near Mehsana, forecasts a comfortable win for BJP in the Gujarat polls even as he acknowledges resentment simmering in a section of his community's youth over the "anamat" agitation.
Lakhvad is part of a cluster of 15 villages dominated by the Kadva Patels near Mehsana, seen as the epicentre of the Patel quota stir. Lakhvad and nearby Vishnagar witnessed violent protests leading to police firing, which led to the rise of quota warrior Hardik Patel and turned many Patels against BJP.
Some of the anger seems to have cooled as the Patel community, sensing legal barriers, has realised that the quota demand could be a bridge too far with some citing the Gujjar reservation in Rajasthan being caught in a legal quandary. The handling of the stir has, however, left palpable scars, leading to a possible division in votes of Patels who have backed BJP for long.
The party has roped in several community leaders to convince the Patel youth. A Mehsana citizen claims, "Things have changed in the past 10-15 days and BJP will regain the community's support by polling time." But meanwhile, there is a young-old divide in the community. Rambhai Patel says BJP's defeat means weakening PM Narendra Modi's claim to power in 2019.
"We are convincing the youth about Congress misrule, which they haven't seen," Patel says. As the election date approaches, BJP and Congress have laid strong focus on 13% Patel voters. The community is seen to pack a punch in north Gujarat where polling will take place in the second phase on December 14. BJP has fielded 52 Patels and Congress 47.
Among Patels, BJP has 29 Leuva subcaste candidates and 23 from Kadva. Banking heavily on Hardik, Congress has fielded 26 Leuva and 21 Kadvas. The voting pattern among Patels is also determined by village clusters. The largest in north Gujarat is 84-village Kadva Samaj near Mehsana, from where deputy CM Nitinbhai Patel is contesting.
Other castes like Prajapati, Bania, Brahmin, Choudhary and Thakore are tilting towards BJP as a reaction to a scenario where Patels assume political pole position. "Look at this road... it was made when Modi was CM. The development here is all due to BJP and not Congress," says fruit vendor Bharatbhai Dhansari in Mehsana. A staunch Congress supporter and local entrepreneur, Ambubhai Patel, claims big gains for Congress but says BJP will retain power with lesser numbers.
"Modi says Congress has let down Patels but it's a lie. It was Modi and Amit Shah who let Patels down as they removed Kesubhai and Anandiben as CMs," he says. He is also unhappy at the circulation of purported Hardik CDs and says, "Hardik has a personal life and one should not intrude." There are reports that some Patel women are unhappy with the CDs.
Lakhvad is part of a cluster of 15 villages dominated by the Kadva Patels near Mehsana, seen as the epicentre of the Patel quota stir. Lakhvad and nearby Vishnagar witnessed violent protests leading to police firing, which led to the rise of quota warrior Hardik Patel and turned many Patels against BJP.
Some of the anger seems to have cooled as the Patel community, sensing legal barriers, has realised that the quota demand could be a bridge too far with some citing the Gujjar reservation in Rajasthan being caught in a legal quandary. The handling of the stir has, however, left palpable scars, leading to a possible division in votes of Patels who have backed BJP for long.
The party has roped in several community leaders to convince the Patel youth. A Mehsana citizen claims, "Things have changed in the past 10-15 days and BJP will regain the community's support by polling time." But meanwhile, there is a young-old divide in the community. Rambhai Patel says BJP's defeat means weakening PM Narendra Modi's claim to power in 2019.
"We are convincing the youth about Congress misrule, which they haven't seen," Patel says. As the election date approaches, BJP and Congress have laid strong focus on 13% Patel voters. The community is seen to pack a punch in north Gujarat where polling will take place in the second phase on December 14. BJP has fielded 52 Patels and Congress 47.
Among Patels, BJP has 29 Leuva subcaste candidates and 23 from Kadva. Banking heavily on Hardik, Congress has fielded 26 Leuva and 21 Kadvas. The voting pattern among Patels is also determined by village clusters. The largest in north Gujarat is 84-village Kadva Samaj near Mehsana, from where deputy CM Nitinbhai Patel is contesting.
Other castes like Prajapati, Bania, Brahmin, Choudhary and Thakore are tilting towards BJP as a reaction to a scenario where Patels assume political pole position. "Look at this road... it was made when Modi was CM. The development here is all due to BJP and not Congress," says fruit vendor Bharatbhai Dhansari in Mehsana. A staunch Congress supporter and local entrepreneur, Ambubhai Patel, claims big gains for Congress but says BJP will retain power with lesser numbers.
"Modi says Congress has let down Patels but it's a lie. It was Modi and Amit Shah who let Patels down as they removed Kesubhai and Anandiben as CMs," he says. He is also unhappy at the circulation of purported Hardik CDs and says, "Hardik has a personal life and one should not intrude." There are reports that some Patel women are unhappy with the CDs.
(This article was originally published in The Times of India)
