As the nominations for 26 seats in Gujarat closed on Thursday evening, a common thread is clearly discernible in allocation of Lok Sabha tickets by both the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress. If the caste factor adhered to in ticket allocation is anything to go by, both the main contending parties in Gujarat seem to be keen to woo Patels, the community that had held the state to ransom in 2015-16 demanding reservations in jobs and educational institutions.
The ruling BJP, which enjoyed the Patel community’s support ever since the days of Somnath to Ayodhya ‘Rath Yatra’ led by party stalwart LK Advani, has increased the number of Lok Sabha tickets to the community to six as compared to five in 2014. Not to be outdone, the Opposition Congress has doubled its nominations to Patels, from four in 2014 to eight this time.
The Congress has already suffered a pre-election jolt on this score as Patel quota agitation leader Hardik Patel is unable to contest the elections due to the Supreme Court’s efusal to suspend his conviction in a rioting case. If the judiciary had allowed Hardik Patel to contest this time, Patel candidates in the fray on Congress ticket would have been nine — a substantial share of the 26 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
The BJP had won all 26 seats in 2014, but the party’s show in the Assembly election of 2017 indicated a drastic erosion in its popularity when its tally came down to an all-time low of 99 since it came to power in Gujarat.
But the Congress has taken a calculated risk by fielding as many as eight MLAs in the Lok Sabha polls. Though the Congress had increased its tally in the Assembly to 77 in 2017, it has been reduced to just 70 now due to six defections and one disqualification, which is disputed. As per a state Congress source, eight MLAs less in the Assembly would not make any difference to the party which is any way not in power in Gujarat. But winning more Lok Sabha seats due to these MLAs’ reputation and caste arithmetic would be more useful at the national level, he argued.
A total of 573 candidates have filed their nomination papers for the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat, where elections will be held in a single phase on 23 April.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address two rallies in Gujarat on 10 April in Junagadh town in Saurashtra region and in south Gujarat’s Songadh.