Saurashtra to get additional BJP focus after election

Narendra Modi’s departure from the seat of power in Gandhinagar to New Delhi adversely hit BJP, rural discontent in Saurashtra needs special focus and the party has to assuage feelings of all communities. These were points that emerged during the preliminary evaluation the BJP brass had on the Gujarat assembly elections.

Top leaders in the party and government felt it was remarkable that the party emerged victorious in Gujarat for the sixth time, braving 22 years of anti-incumbency. However, they also felt BJP could have done better had its state government addressed rural discontent satisfactorily. A senior state leader said that the party unit collectively felt that BJP would have fared much better had not caste movements rocked the state.

“Announcement of increased procurement came late and most growers were outside the formal procurement system. Which is why farmers deserted us this time. Whenever Narendra Modi staged the Vibrant Gujarat summit, he also followed it up with a Krishi Mela to ensure that he was as serious about agriculture as he was about industry. That image of the government had to be popularised,” a BJP leader said.


The party has decided to address rural discontent, reach out to communities and provide exemplary governance, even as officials said PM Modi has decided to personally take stock of the situation in Gujarat more often to ensure “governance was as tight as it was during his times”.

“While CM Vijay Rupani and state president Jitu Vaghani won their own seats, it was very evident that they had to completely depend on Amit Shah and Narendra Modi for booth management and votes,” a party leader said. According to state BJP spokesman Jagdish Bhavsar, the party has got the support of “all communities” and will now reach out to them and reassure that their best interests were with BJP.

BJP is also keenly watching the impact of Alpesh Thakor and his relationship with Congress leaders such as the party’s Patidar face Paresh Dhanani, a winner from Amreli. A BJP leader said Patidars would sooner or later come back to BJP with the party’s outreach and the community’s promise that “this time that it wanted to teach the BJP a lesson”.

However, the support of backward communities would be necessary to consolidate support for BJP in years to come. “Alpesh has come through a positive social movement. He bears promise for the community that is significant in number and vital for any party,” a leader said.

Officials said the PM was upset how social movements had made Gujarat a conflict zone in past two years.

Focus will be on Patel-dominated Saurashtra where BJP lost 13 seats.

Political analyst Shirish Kashikar said Keshubhai Patel and then Modi recognised the importance of developing Saurashtra. “The region is known to have a topography of a ‘saucer turned upside down’. It was very difficult to retain water but the BJP governments with first Gokul Gram Yojna and then Jyoti Gram Yojna came up with ways for sustainable irrigation. One of the reasons behind choosing a caste neutral man like Vijay Rupani from Saurashtra was also to reassure the region that it was the focus of the party.”