Farmer links work for Gordhan Zadaphia

Ahmedabad: Life has come full circle for ex-Gujarat MoS (home) Gordhan Zadaphia, who had a role in mobilising the Patidars against the BJP in the state in 2007, 2009 and 2012.

Zadaphia has been closely working with the farming communities — Kurmis and Jats in UP, Gurjars in Rajasthan, Mohantis in Odisha and Kappas and Kapus in Andhra — across the country under an umbrella organisation, Akhil Bharatiya Sardar Patel Mahasabha. His reputation among the Kurmis were put to good use by PM Modi in 2014 when Zadaphia was made to camp in Varanasi and mobilise the community for him. He had also actively campaigned during the UP and Jharkhand polls. He was made incharge of Junagadh district and was involved in campaigning during the recent Jasdan byelection, which the BJP wrested from the Congress.

Although Zadaphia parted ways with the BJP in 2004, he never moved away from the saffron polity. He had mobilised his Patidar community members against the BJP under Sardar Patel Utkarsh Samiti ahead of 2007 Gujarat elections. His MJP in 2009 Lok Sabha polls spoilt the show for BJP in Gujarat and reduced the winning margin of former BJP MP Rajendrasinh Rana (Bhavnagar) to just 5,902 votes.


MJP’s Patel candidate split the community’s vote at Patan, leading to a 20,000-vote victory for Congress’ Jagdish Thakore.

In 2012, when Keshubhai Patel resigned from the BJP and floated GPP, Zadaphia merged his party with the GPP. Zadaphia also reached out to Nitish Kumar in Bihar and JDU extended its support to GPP during the 2012 elections, sources said. Zadaphia returned to the BJP along with Keshubhai ahead of 2014 elections following a nudge from the sangh.