In the bustling city of Ahmedabad, Gujarat’s largest city, the days are starting normally. Shutters to shops are opened by 7 am, officegoers step on the road to catch buses and the two-wheelers take over the city streets soon after. However, there are no banners, no festoons, no road shows with chariots carrying star campaigners—the election fever in Gujarat seems to be running dry less than two weeks away from the polling date.
Gujarat, a BJP bastion for more than 20 years and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state, goes to polls in a single phase on May 7. Apart from an advisory about using black cloth, flags and inflammatory banners, there are no restrictions from the Election Commission on campaigning, nor are there signs of tensions visible in this part of the state. Still, the contestants of both, the ruling as well as opposition parties here are barely canvassing the streets.
Some blame the lull on scorching summer heat as temperatures touch 45 degrees Celsius. “It is too hot outside. Who will campaign or even watch the campaign in this heat,” says Hiteshbhai, as he hands out ice gola to a few bystanders near Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati riverfront.
Others say: “Jaisa chal raha hai acha hai. Modi ji ne hamare liye itna sab kara hai (It is going well the way it is. Modi ji has done so much for us).” Nobody is really able to enunciate what exactly it is that the he has done for them or what gives the party the upper hand to win the hearts of lakhs without even showing up on the road.
Meanwhile, some others claim that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been in power in the state for over two decades, no longer feels the need to seek votes through big banner campaigns. “People have a blind faith in Modi ji. Their (BJP’s) candidates are not even local anymore but people will still vote for the BJP in the name of Modi. It is like madness and the party is aware of it,” says Sunil bhai, a taxi driver.
The Kshatriya Vote
The saffron party is feeling the heat among a section of society. A couple hundred kilometres south of Ahmedabad, Bharuch is witnessing a turn of events where the Kshatriya community, also known as Rajputs, has announced that they will boycott the party this election season over the remarks made by one of its senior leaders, Puroshottam Rupala.
Rajputs have a sizable presence in Rajkot, Surendranagar, Jamnagar, Bhavnagar, Kutch, Banaskantha, Patan, Sabarkantha, Mehsana and Bharuch and form an important part of the BJP’s vote bank not only in Gujarat but across the country.
The protest originally sparked off in Rajkot as the community was angry with Rupala’s comments at a rally about former rulers collaborating with the British and other foreign invaders and maintaining “roti and beti” (breaking-bread and marriage) relations with them. The Rajputs, however, felt neglected when the BJP went ahead with their decision to field him from Rajkot, ignoring their only complaint from the party.
As a result, dharma raths were flagged off and posters were put across several districts announcing a boycott against the saffron party, with a cross across Rupala’s face, stating, “It is about the dignity of Rajputs”. The community plans to traverse across all the 26 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state and appeal to people to vote for the opposition INDIA bloc.
“We did not have any problem with the BJP, we have voted for them for many years. This is not political but it is about society. After such a nasty comment (by Rupala) about Kshatriyas, we cannot vote for the BJP anymore. This is our decision,” says Sangram Singh, deputy Sarpanch of Miyagam in Bharuch.
About 25 Rajput villages here have decided that this time they will not give their vote to six-time MP Mansukh Vasava and instead vote for Aam Aadmi Party, which has fielded Dediapada MLA Chaitar Vasava, as part of INDI-alliance. In other Kshatriya-dominated constituencies, the community has decided that they will vote for Congress this time.
