All eyes are on Gujarat where the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party is set to return with a landslide victory this year with early trends predicting 147 seats for the party, which has not lost an election in the state since 1995.
However, in some key seats, the fight is still on. One of its star candidates, Patidar leader Hardik Patel is locked in a neck-and-neck contest with Amarsinh Thakor of the Aam Aadmi Party in urban Viramgram assembly, early trends showed.
While Congress was ahead in 19 and the AAP was winning 6 seats, according to early trends reported by the Election Commission. Others were leading on four seats.
Will Hardik Patel's magic work?
After trailing for a while, Hardik Patel had taken slender lead of 2,371 votes over Thakor at the end of four rounds of counting. Vote count in favour of Patel stood at 14,304 votes, compared to 11,933 votes for Thakor. The sitting MLA of Viramgram, who hails from Congress party, was seen coming a distant third, with 3,921 votes in his bag.
A native of Chandranagar village in Viramgam taluka, Hardik Patel was born and brought up in Viramgam town. He shot into prominence following the 2015 Patidar agitation for reservation in jobs, which he led. That agitation was widely credited for an impressive performance by the Congress party in 2017.
Patel was part oft he ‘HAJ’ (Hardik-Jignesh-Alpesh) trio that was once pitted against the ‘RAM’ (Rupani-Amit-Modi) of the BJP. Patel later joined the Congress party, but differences with the leadership of the party made him switch to BJP.
Given the nature and caste composition of the Viramgam seat, it was never easy for 29-year-old Patel to get the voting arithmetic right. There are an estimated 3 lakh voters in Viramgam, including 65,000 Thakors (OBC), 50,000 Patidars, 35,000 Dalits, 20,000 Muslims and 20,000 from the Bharwad and Rabari castes (OBC). There are also 18,000 Kolis (OBC) members and 10,000 Karadia Rajputs, also an OBC caste.
The constituency is considered insulated from caste politics as leaders from different segments of society and religions, including a minority community, have represented it so far.
Viramgam segment, which comprises Viramgam, Mandal and Detroj talukas of Ahmedabad, has been with the Congress party since 2012. The last time BJP held the Viramgam constituency was in the 2007 polls.
While Bharwad relied on his past performance and work done for the people, Hardik, who joined BJP in June after spending some time in Congress, made a host of promises, including getting the status of a district for Viramgam.
Other key promises included building a modern sports complex, schools, 50-bed hospitals each in Mandal taluka, Detroj taluka and near Nal Sarovar, 1,000 government houses in Viramgam town, an industrial estate, gardens etc.
The Patidar vote
The BJP-led state government's action against Patidar youths in 2015 turned many against the party. As many as 14 Patidar youths were killed in police action during the agitation and PAAS leaders were slapped with several cases.
PAAS had organised agitations across Gujarat demanding Other Backward Class (OBC) status and reservation in government jobs and educational institutions for the youth of the Patidar community.
While Hardik's entry into BJP has been seen as a way for the ruling party to woo the Patidar vote, the AAP has also given tickets to Patidar leaders in key seats like Surat region such as Gopal Italia, Alpesh Kathiria and Dharmesh Malaviya among others.
(With inputs from PTI)
