Patel community resentment likely to hit BJP in civic polls

AHMEDABAD: With the powerful Patel community increasingly moving away from the Gujarat BJP , the local body election is posing a tough challenge for the Anandi Patel government. Notwithstanding the urban support that the saffron party, the resentment within the community that has been the backbone of the state party is now threatening to severely dent its electoral prospect in the forthcoming local body polls slated for November 22 and 26.

While the community had flexed its muscle ahead of elections in Gujarat even on earlier occasions, its anger and disillusionment is now more palpable on the streets. “There is no way they (BJP) can make it back to corporation this time,“ says Nitesh Patel, a resident of New Ranip area of Ahmedabad.

A taxi driver by profession, Patel says that the way the state government has handled the issue of Patidar agitation has pushed the community to the wall.“That young boy (Hardik) is still behind bars with sedition charges. Is it sedition to ask for what you feel is your right? Could they not sort it out through dialogue? Why were people beaten up and women abused with unmentionable invectives by the police when all they wanted was to be heard?“ says Patel.

Similar anger has found expression in several Patel societies where banners have been put up barring BJP candidates from entering to canvass across Ahmedabad, Surat and other parts of the state.

Congress that maintained some distance from the stir has moved in to cash on the anger. As a matter of fact there has been a significant rise in the number of Patidar candidates fielded by the party this time around. “While the community turned away from the Congress in the mid-1980s following the implementation of Kshatrya Harijan Adavasi Muslim formula of social engineering, we may be witnessing a reversal of it this time around,“ said an analyst. “However, it is too early to come to a conclusion in this regard,“ he added.

Senior leaders within BJP admitted that the agitation and the resentment of the community is going to hurt the party.“The loss whatever it may be, will obviously be ours, no one else has anything to lose under the present scenario,“ said a senior leader of the party.