Following strong representations from the OBC and Koli communities the state government announced the appointments of these leaders.
With the Lok Sabha election around the corner, the state government on Friday appointed Punjaji Thakore, a former MP and prominent OBC leader of North Gujarat, and Manu Chavda, a leader of Koli community of Saurashtra, as chairman and deputy chairman respectively of the Gujarat Thakore Welfare Corporation.
Following strong representations from the OBC and Koli communities, which form more than 30 per cent of the state’s population, the state government announced the appointments of these leaders. The move is aimed at wooing the voters of these communities who dominate in over 80 of the total 182 seats of the state assembly.
Both Punjaji and Chavda enjoyed the confidence of the state leadership. Punjaji had represented Mehsana in Lok Sabha while Manu Chavda has settled in Surat. The OBC and Koli leaders have hailed the appointments and expressed the hope that the decision would prove advantageous to the ruling party in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. It is after a gap of several months that the state government has appointed political nominees to the statutory corporations and boards.
Earlier, after the state assembly elections in December 2007, the state government had appointed Narayan Patel as the chairman of Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNNL) and former BJP MLA, Kamlesh Patel, as the chairman of Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited (TCGL). The other party leaders appointed to boards and corporations included Bhavna Dave, former MP, who was appointed chairperson of the social welfare board, and Anant Dave and Ambalal Patel as chairman and deputy chairman respectively of the Sardar Patel Irrigation Samiti, formed to construct check dams in Saurashtra and Kutch.
It is believed that the state government has been compelled to go for political appointments as Congress has launched an effective campaigning led by the Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi who has been very popular among the traditional votebanks of the party. If concerted efforts are not made by the ruling party, the Congress could succeed in rallying around the OBCs and Koli communities. Therefore, Thakore and Chavda have been appointed to the important corporation dealing with the welfare schemes of the OBC and Kolis.
However, the BJP is not much perturbed over the frequent visits of Rahul Gandhi, as the party`s star campaigner, chief minister Narendra Modi, continues to enjoy the same popularity as before. Secondly, the party has a well-knit organisational set-up in Gujarat as against the divided house of the Congress.
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