SURAT: Dozens of motorbikes throb, rev and zoom. Varacha road in Surat explodes in noise and tumult as Patidar leader Hardik Patel begins his road show. Sporting bright yellow caps, waving flags, some wielding cardboard ploughs to emphasise their farming roots, thousands of Patidar youths roar in unison, "Jai Sardar, Jai Patidar".
As Hardik's motorcade rumbles forward, youths begin to sprint past, trying not to lose sight of him. "Jai Bhawanee, BJP Jawanee" yells 23 year old Shardul Patel, "this time the BJP will lose and the janta will win in Gujarat." The crowd screams again again, the song `kuch kar le' from Chak De India blares out, hundreds of phones are held aloft, youths with Hardik's face on their T shirts stream past, clambering onto Hardik's truck or shinning up trees to wave flags.
The crowd here is overwhelmingly young and almost entirely male each with a mobile phone, yellow cap and a red tilak on his forehead. "The BJP's Hindutva is no longer undefeatable, "says Mahadev Patel, an unemployed mechanical engineer. "We are patidars and we are the real Hindus," "were the 14 people who died not Hindus? The BJP talks about Hindutva but doesn't practice it." (A reference to the 14 Patel youth who died in police firing in during the 2015 agitation for reservations).
There are 12 assembly seats in Surat city, of which the BJP won all in 2012. But with Patidars dominant in 5 of those seats, (in Varacha, Patidars make up more than 70 per cent of the population) the Congress is banking on Hardik to wrest at least half a dozen seats from the BJP. Why have so many youths joined Hardik's road show? "I am an engineer," says Abhayraj Jhala, "I spent lakhs on my education but I will not get a job worth even 5000 rupees a month. That's why I want reservations." `Kisano ka neta, bharat ka nirmata, Sardar Patel,' shouts the crowd, many of them sporting Sardar Patel badges. "Patel is our hero," says Viral Patel from Saurashtra, "we Patels built the BJP in Gujarat but we can't be taken for granted."
Interestingly, groups of patidar women also gather in front of their homes to wave Hardik on. Do they regard him a credible leader? "We are unhappy at the way things have turned out, " they say, "we used to get more money for the weaving work we did in textiles, now we don't get enough."
Many are part of the protest to voice their anger against the onslaught of GST and demonitisation. Dinesh Navadia regional chairman of the gems and Jewellery export promotion council says GST has hit the small diamond polisher hard. Many small diamond polishing units in the rural areas have no knowledge of how to fill online documents nor have access to internet. He says the 3 per cent GST on B2B has hit small diamond units, many of them Patidars, very hard. "Unless GST on B2b is removed, the diamond industry is in jeopardy." The patidar youth on the street are adamant, unless their demand for reservations of jobs is met, they will not end their agitation.
There are many however who are skeptical of Hardik and do not see him as a credible figure. Among older Patidars the sentiment is voiced that Hardik has gone straight from bicycle to Mercedes and is only being propped up by disgruntled elements within the BJP. "Hardik has pockets of support," says Surat based journalist Faysal, "but he's hardly a pan Gujarat figure yet and ultimately the strong local organization of the BJP is what will get voters to the polling booth. The Patidars are known for their mob mentality, so when they converge, it looks like a big crowd but how much of this will translate into votes?" The older Patidars are skeptical of Hardik but the young are rooting for him strongly.
"The sex CD was a bad move," says Akshat Patel, "it only got Hardik lots of sympathy." The motorcycle gangs surge forward, their yellow caps bobbing and their music blaring. Yet however flamboyant the Patidar show of strength they still can't match the sheer numbers of BJP workers spread through every locality across Gujarat. Its that formidable local network that might just swing the 2017 elections in favour of the BJP inspite of the Patidar challenge.
As Hardik's motorcade rumbles forward, youths begin to sprint past, trying not to lose sight of him. "Jai Bhawanee, BJP Jawanee" yells 23 year old Shardul Patel, "this time the BJP will lose and the janta will win in Gujarat." The crowd screams again again, the song `kuch kar le' from Chak De India blares out, hundreds of phones are held aloft, youths with Hardik's face on their T shirts stream past, clambering onto Hardik's truck or shinning up trees to wave flags.
The crowd here is overwhelmingly young and almost entirely male each with a mobile phone, yellow cap and a red tilak on his forehead. "The BJP's Hindutva is no longer undefeatable, "says Mahadev Patel, an unemployed mechanical engineer. "We are patidars and we are the real Hindus," "were the 14 people who died not Hindus? The BJP talks about Hindutva but doesn't practice it." (A reference to the 14 Patel youth who died in police firing in during the 2015 agitation for reservations).
There are 12 assembly seats in Surat city, of which the BJP won all in 2012. But with Patidars dominant in 5 of those seats, (in Varacha, Patidars make up more than 70 per cent of the population) the Congress is banking on Hardik to wrest at least half a dozen seats from the BJP. Why have so many youths joined Hardik's road show? "I am an engineer," says Abhayraj Jhala, "I spent lakhs on my education but I will not get a job worth even 5000 rupees a month. That's why I want reservations." `Kisano ka neta, bharat ka nirmata, Sardar Patel,' shouts the crowd, many of them sporting Sardar Patel badges. "Patel is our hero," says Viral Patel from Saurashtra, "we Patels built the BJP in Gujarat but we can't be taken for granted."
Interestingly, groups of patidar women also gather in front of their homes to wave Hardik on. Do they regard him a credible leader? "We are unhappy at the way things have turned out, " they say, "we used to get more money for the weaving work we did in textiles, now we don't get enough."
Many are part of the protest to voice their anger against the onslaught of GST and demonitisation. Dinesh Navadia regional chairman of the gems and Jewellery export promotion council says GST has hit the small diamond polisher hard. Many small diamond polishing units in the rural areas have no knowledge of how to fill online documents nor have access to internet. He says the 3 per cent GST on B2B has hit small diamond units, many of them Patidars, very hard. "Unless GST on B2b is removed, the diamond industry is in jeopardy." The patidar youth on the street are adamant, unless their demand for reservations of jobs is met, they will not end their agitation.
There are many however who are skeptical of Hardik and do not see him as a credible figure. Among older Patidars the sentiment is voiced that Hardik has gone straight from bicycle to Mercedes and is only being propped up by disgruntled elements within the BJP. "Hardik has pockets of support," says Surat based journalist Faysal, "but he's hardly a pan Gujarat figure yet and ultimately the strong local organization of the BJP is what will get voters to the polling booth. The Patidars are known for their mob mentality, so when they converge, it looks like a big crowd but how much of this will translate into votes?" The older Patidars are skeptical of Hardik but the young are rooting for him strongly.
"The sex CD was a bad move," says Akshat Patel, "it only got Hardik lots of sympathy." The motorcycle gangs surge forward, their yellow caps bobbing and their music blaring. Yet however flamboyant the Patidar show of strength they still can't match the sheer numbers of BJP workers spread through every locality across Gujarat. Its that formidable local network that might just swing the 2017 elections in favour of the BJP inspite of the Patidar challenge.
Get latest news & live updates on the go on your pc with News App. Download The Times of India news app for your device.
