In Gujarat's border district of Banaskantha, a Congress stronghold, candidates and caste loyalties hold more weight than any party in this assembly election, local poll observers say.
While the Congress won seven out of nine seats in 2017 and has repeated five of its sitting MLAs, the BJP has been rummaging through caste equations in a bid to turn its electoral fortunes.
The ruling party candidates have also focused on the crucial water issue, telling voters that only a BJP government can cater to the parched district.
Despite the aggressive campaigning by AAP in other parts of states, its presence is muted here and limited to curiosity - featuring in conversations but not seen yet as a contender.
The politics of Banaskantha revolves around three OBC castes – Thakors, Chaudharys, and Maldharis - and leaders need to hold sway among their communities for an election victory, according to local observers.
They cite the case of Ganiben Thakor, Congress MLA from Vav, who has emerged as a leader of Thakors, one of the largest caste groups here.
Listening to her speech in Harkudiya village, Lalabhai Thakor describes Ganiben as their own “Mayawati”, who has been “forcefully raising their issues and fighting with authorities for their welfare”.
Standing next to him, Ravjibhai Desai, a rabari (Maldhari), echoes similar sentiments and said she can “take on anyone to get our work done.”
Before elections, the district witnessed significant caste mobilisation
A section of Chaudharys formed the Abuda Sena demanding the release of dairy cooperative leader and former home minister Vipul Chaudhary.
Vipul Chaudhary was arrested for alleged financial irregularities during his tenure as Dudhsagar Dairy Cooperative Chairperson.
Similarly, the Maldharis group Gujarat Maldhari Mahapanchaya has urged the community members to vote against the BJP for not accepting their demands.
To counter this, the BJP has tweaked its list of candidates this time.
The party has fielded Shankarbhai Chaudhary from Tharad.
He was fielded from Vav and had lost Ganiben Thakor in 2017. While the Congress has repeated Ganiben Thakor, the BJP has fielded Swarpuji Thakor, who belongs to the same caste.
Talking about her poll prospects, Ganiben Thakor claimed that she is getting support of not only her community, but also of Maldharis and Dalits.
"They are backing me. The BJP has fielded a Thakor, but the votes of are not going to get divided," she asserted.
Besides Ganiben leaders like Mahesh Patel in Palanpur, Amrut Thakor in Kankrej, and Gulabsinh Rajput in Tharad also enjoy similar goodwill and the BJP, as a counter, is also projecting leaders as the "face" of their respective communities, the observers say.
The BJP has nominated Praveen Mali from Deesa. He is from Saini community which also has a sizeable population in the district by replacing Shashikant Pandya, who is a Brahmin.
While a section of Rabaris (Maldharis) is already up in arms against BJP, the party is also facing a rebellion with Mavji Desai contesting as an independent after being denied a ticket from Dhanera.
“I was left with no other option but to contest as an Independent. People from the community felt ignored by BJP,” he claimed, adding claiming that his caste in the entire Banaskantha will vote against BJP.
Water is one of the major issues in the district, having one Narmada canal and catering to only some of the villages.
BJP’s nominee from Tharad, Shankarbhai Chowdhury, who is now being projected by the party as a leader of his caste, and its candidate from Vav, Swarapuji Thakor, in their speeches talk at length about their plans for water availability in the region.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also talked about issues related to water availability in his recent rally at Kankrej in Gujarat, saying that it was the BJP government that brought Narmada water into this parched region and promised that it will reach those areas too which were left behind.
Bharubhai Kag, a Chaudhary by caste, from Tharad, talking about the problem of water, said that people from villages that are near the canal don’t marry their daughters to boys from villages that are far away from the canal and are dependent on the borewells for irrigation.
Alpesh Bhai Chowdhury, sarpanch and member of Abuda Sena, said, "Our caste has supported BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019, but in assembly elections we want our representation. It is good that BJP leader Amit Shah announced that the party will elevate the stature of Shankarbhai."
Recently addressing a rally in Tharod, Amit Shah, while seeking votes for Chaudhary, had said that he will make Chaudhary a "big man".
Chaudhary, who has been campaigning in nearby seats, said he is confident that people from his community will fully back the BJP.
On the issue of Abuda Sena, he said, "All their concerns have been take care. And people have full faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi."
Voting in the second and final phase was be held on Monday.
