New Delhi: Assembly elections are due in Gujarat at the end of the year and Patidars play a vital role in deciding the fate of political parties. The reason is that the Patidar vote bank has always played a decisive role in Gujarat. Particularly in the Saurashtra region, where the Patidars are in majority, which decides the outcome of the Assembly elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah during their visit to Gujarat on Saturday, tried to reach out to Patidars.
The BJP has been trying to reach out to Patidars for the past one year to assuage their feelings as they distanced themselves from the party. That is the reason why the party is wooing the leader of Saurashtra Hardik Patel, but he joined the Congress. However, Gujarat politics took a turn as soon as Hardik Patel resigned from Congress last Wednesday. Hardik Patel has been considered to have a decent reach in the Patidar vote bank and all the parties are making every effort to win the confidence of Patidars of Saurashtra.
Earlier, Madhav Singh Solanki had brought, the KHAM theory, which stands for Kshatriya, Harijan, Adivasi and Muslims, theory to Congress. It is said that after this the Patidars got angry with the Congress in such a way that till now their displeasure has not gone away. In the 2017 elections, the Patidars were angry with the BJP, due to which the BJP had to bear the brunt and the party was reduced to just 77 seats. Keeping this in mind, this time the BJP is taking steps to attract Patidars.
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In fact, All the political parties are busy trying to woo the Patidar vote bank in the Saurashtra region. With the resignation of Hardik Patel, many changes are seen in the political equation in Gujarat. Therefore, the Prime Minister and the Home Minister were trying to woo the vote bank of this particular section.
If sources are to be believed, the speculation of Saurashtra's Patidar leader Naresh Patel joining the Congress had troubled the BJP and the top leaders, since then the BJP is in touch with Hardik Patel and now it is believed that Hardik Patel may join BJP soon? The fight in the Gujarat Assembly elections would not be a cakewalk for the BJP while it is prestigious for Modi and Shah as both of the come from this State. Gujarat Assembly polls are crucial for both the leaders as the Lok Sabha elections are to be held in 2024 and the results of this State will have an impact on the Lok Sabha elections.
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The politics in Gujarat are revolving around the Patidar vote bank and if Hardik Patel joins BJP and Naresh Patel switches over his loyalties to Congress, a new equation seems to be forming in the State for all the parties. But, BJP may not be harmed, so BJP is trying hard to ensure Hardik Patel joins BJP as soon as possible, which he has also hinted about. Earlier, Hardik Patel, who had attacked BJP and top BJP leaders, will he sail with that party in Gujarat under the leadership of Shah and Modi, will be clear only after the former officially joins the party
In this regard, leading political analyst Desh Ratan Nigam says that this time the atmosphere is different from 2017 and it is more positive for the BJP. It will bag more seats in Gujarat this time than in 2017. He said that if Hardik Patel joins BJP, then somewhere else the Patidar vote bank will also transfer to BJP. The circumstances of 2017 were different, but now the BJP, after that election results, has rectified its mistakes and tried to improve its shortcomings both in the government as well in the party. So, it can be expected that this time the party may increase its tally.
