The community, once a hardcore supporter of BJP, is at the centre-stage of the elections, as young Patidars are now up in arms against the BJP government.
In close to 10 constituencies where the Patidar vote is considered significant, Patidars in large numbers came out to vote for the first phase of voting on Saturday. The voting in rural areas is higher than in urban areas. The community, once a hardcore supporter of BJP, is at the centre-stage of the elections, as young Patidars are now up in arms against the BJP government.
While average voting is close to 70 per cent, early estimates indicate 62 per cent voting in Bhavnagar district, higher at 67 per cent in Amreli and 70 per cent in Surat. Leading politicians, whose fate will be decided in these constituencies include Dilip Sanghani (Dhari), and Bavku Undhad (Amreli) of BJP, while those of Congress include Paresh Dhanani (Amreli) and Dhiru Gajera (Varachha Road).
High turnout in these seats has made the contest keen between Congress and BJP, but results of these constituencies are critical for BJP, as it holds nine out of these 10 constituencies in the outgoing Legislative Assembly (2012-17). Apart from Amreli, all the seats were either won by BJP or the winner later on defected to BJP.
This time the situation is compltely inverse, as the Patidars are angry with the BJP for denying them reservations as well as raining 'atrocities' against them during the Patidar Agitation of August 2015. Surat, which has five of the 10 seats, is widely affected by GST and the traders who supported BJP are now antagonistic against the party.
Meanwhile, Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) leader Hardik Patel appealed to voters from across castes to vote BJP out of Gujarat in the elections. In a live broadcast over Facebook, he said that it is not that he likes Congress, but instead that BJP needs to be taught a lesson as it is indifferent to the voters that voted it to power. He added that if the BJP regains power, people will have no one but themselves to blame.
"How can the government commit atrocities on the people who brought it to power? Now, they have become extremely arrogant. They are trying to curb the voice of the people. I appeal to voters to vote out BJP. Do not vote for Independent, AAP, NCP or other parties," Hardik said while appealing to voters on social media. He went on to admit that though he is not a fan of Congress, if voters feel that Congress failed to solve their problems, then they can vote them out in the next elections.
Key Seats
Amreli: Dhari, Lathi, Savarkundla, Amreli
Bhavnagar: Gariadhar
Surat: Karanj, Katargam, Kamrej, Limbayat, Varachha Road, Surat – North
Key Patidar leaders in the first phase
BJP: Jitu Vaghani, Saurabh Patel, Dileep Sanghani, Bavku Undhad, RC Faldu, Raghavji Patel, Haribhai Patel, Chiman Saparia, Jayesh Radadiya
Congress: Paresh Dhanani, Dhiru Gajera, Virji Thumar
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