BJP homes in on 250 societies in Satellite

Votes of upper-class people are necessary to ensure a thumping victory for Lal Krishna Advani - the fact has gone deep into the minds of the BJP leaders and as a result the party, for the first time, called a meeting of chairmen and secretaries of 250 societies and apartments in Satellite, a posh area of the city.

Satellite, which comes under Gandhinagar constituency from where Advani is seeking his re-election to Lok Sabha, is densely populated and a crucial vote bank of the BJP. Though the party can bank on the voters of the area, mostly upper caste people, the low turnout in past elections is the major concern.

According to local leaders, this time the Congress is also trying to penetrate into the traditional bastion of BJP. "Congress candidate Suresh Patel is leaving no stone unturned to garner maximum votes from this area. He knows if he succeeds in wooing voters here, he would make a big dent in the BJP vote bank," said a local leader.

"Suresh Patel has opened his election office at Jodhpur and recently convened a meeting of Patel community members at Panchratna party plot on SG highway," he said, adding, "The Congress workers are distributing leaflets highlighting the development works done by the party in the area."

Perhaps alarmed by the Congress' interest in Satellite, the BJP too has changed its strategy and for the first time organised a meeting of chairmen and secretaries of the societies in the area to ensure a huge turnout on polling day. The party invited members of about 250 societies in the area to participate in the meeting, which was held at the Chandan party plot in Jodhpur. Many senior BJP leaders, including Gujarat home minister Amit Shah, addressed the meeting.

"Yes, we got invitation from BJP and attended the meeting," said Sunil Thakkar, a member of Sita Tower Owners' Association at Jodhpur. "Everybody should vote otherwise it would be unfair to blame any government for not doing its work. I will convince other members to definitely vote on April 30," Thakkar added. Sita Tower has over 60 flats.

After delimitation, Satellite and Vastrapur are in Vejalpur assembly constituency, separated from Sarkhej assembly constituency. According to a rough estimate there are about 80,000-90,000 upper caste voters in Vejalpur assembly segment and the political leaders know that a major chunk of voters here refrain from voting. Therefore, parties are working overtime to ensure that they used their franchise on April 30.

"Vejalpur ward gave us a lead of over 30,000 votes in the last assembly election," claimed Amit Shah, who represents Sarkhej assembly seat. Shah requested Jodhpur Society chairman and other influential people to ensure high poll percentage.

"I am here to seek your help to get more and more people out of their home on the polling day," he added. "We are sure that after the meeting, the voters would definitely turn out in great numbers to ensure a thumping victory for our candidate," said a BJP worker.

"Our society has 365 voters and I will request all of them to vote on April 30," said Dinesh Patel, a member of Vishwakarma Vihar Society in Satellite. "Most of the voters are aware of their responsibility but we will remind them not to forget to vote for the candidate of their choice," said Harish Gandhi, secretary of the society.

"There are 165 voters in our society and they are mostly highly qualified," said Bhudar Patel, former chairman of Kameshwar Society. "They must cast their vote in favour of any candidate and shouldn't waste their vote," Patel added.