SC/ST seats likely to be a game-changer in Gujarat Assembly polls

About 50-odd SC/ST seats in Gujarat can be a game-changer for any party in the upcoming state assembly elections, says a TOI report.

Interestingly, no single party was able to dominate these seats, at least in the past two polls.

The BJP was the frontrunner in the prominent SC seats in the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar urban belt and Kutch, north and central Gujarat in 2012. The ruling party won 15 of the 20 SC seats, whereas Congress bagged 5 seats.


But 2017 was a googly for the BJP - the party managed to win only 9 seats while Congress played a good show and bagged 10 seats.

In 2017, the Patidar reservation agitation also played in favor of Congress with Hardik Patel throwing his weight behind the party.

But this time, the scenario has changed a lot with the Patidar leader in the race as a BJP candidate.

Coming to Scheduled Tribe seats, the majority of ST seats border Madhya Pradesh.

In 2012 and 2017, there was a split between Congress and the BJP.

In 2012, BJP won 15 seats while the Congress bagged 16.

In 2017, the saffron party's tally dropped to 14, whereas the Congress performed better and won 17 seats.

Gujarat has for decades seen a bipolar fight between the BJP and Congress. But this time it may see more of a three-way fight with the Aam Aadmi Party challenging both parties.

The BJP has won six successive terms and aims at retaining power in PM Narendra Modi's home state.

The Congress will be hoping to end its 27-year stint in the Opposition.

AAP will be looking for a significant presence in a third state after coming to power in Delhi and Punjab.